In The City Of Love (Complete)
by Gilly-Fish221
Summary: Phineas did tell her we weren't together, but I don't think it ever occurred to him to stop holding my hand. * When Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella are in Paris for a week, Isabella is determined to get her love interest to notice her. They are after all, in the City of Love. * SEQUEL CANCELLED.
1. Chapter 1 -The Trip-

• _Isabella_ •  
"Isa! The boys are here! Are you ready to go?!" I heard my mother call up the stairs.

The Flynn-Fletcher family had invited me to join them on their vacation to Paris that was the first week of summer, and I of course accepted graciously, but we all know the real reason I want to go is to try  
-and probably fail- to get Phineas, my life long crush, to notice me at long last.

"Yeah mom! I'm coming!" I replied, before grabbing my large pink suitcase off my freshly made bed, and heading downstairs.

Once I got to the main floor, I said my goodbyes to my mother, and pulled my bag through the front door, and to the end of the driveway, where the Flynn-Fletcher's family car was waiting.

I was so excited to be going to Paris again!

The first time we went, -which was about 4-5 years ago- had been quite the frustrating, and sadness filled experience, in my opinion, but hopefully this time won't be as bad.

Cross your fingers, and wish me luck because I think I'm gonna need all the help I can get...

"Hey Izzy! Ready?" Phineas called as he jumped out of the red car, and came around to the other side where I was standing with my bag.

"You have no idea!" I beamed excitedly, grabbing the handle of my suitcase, and carrying it to their trunk.

I was ready to get out of Danville for a bit, and hopefully come back without Phineas' obliviousness.

(Try saying those two words three times fast, my goodness.)

"Last time was fun, but I think it'll be even more enjoyable now that we don't have to worry about airplane parts..." Phineas said, and he opened the trunk, and helped me put my bag in.

"True..." I shrugged before following Phineas to the car door, and sliding into the beige middle seat between him, and Ferb.

It was kind of a tight fit, but I didn't mind since that would give me a reasonable excuse to be close to Phineas...and apparently Ferb...

"Hey Ferb, excited?" I greeted my other best friend as I buckled my seat belt.

He shifted uncomfortably before nodding.

I guess he likes having his own personal space bubble un-popped.

Phineas got in, and shut the back door then we were on our way.

"Okay kids, when we get to the airport, make sure to stay together, we don't want you to get lost or anything." Mr. Flynn-Fletcher joked as he drove down the road into town towards the airport where we would be taking a long plane ride to the City of Love.

I wasn't really looking forward to the long plane ride, but if I can manage to sit next to, or near Phineas, that should make it more bearable.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned my head towards Ferb who motioned for me to scoot over.

"But I'll squish Phineas." I whispered to him in protest.

Ferb rolled his eyes. "Oh boo-hoo..." He said sarcastically, and wiped away a fake tear.

I stuck my tongue out at him before listening to his request.

I had to admit I felt kind of awkward, scooting closer to Phineas, but I had to get over it eventually.

"Oh, um, hi..." Phineas said uncomfortably as our legs touched. I felt my face heat up involuntarily, and looked at my lap. "Ferb needed more space." I said quietly as I looked at him, wishing my face wasn't as bright red as it probably was. I watched as Phineas furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you okay? Your face is red" He pointed out.

I heard Ferb trying to hold in his laughter beside me, so I gave him the death glare, which put him back in his place before he lost it.

I looked back at Phineas, "I'm fine." I smiled at him, and he smiled back before he looked out the window.

I turned my head towards the front windshield, and watched as we passed the tall buildings of our city, and the busyness of the people on lunch break.

The Tri-State Area was beautiful, especially in the summertime when there were all sorts of colorful flowers in the florists stands, and the bright clothing of the tourists, and vacationers milling about, seeing the sights.

I don't think I'd want to live anywhere else.

"Boarding gate for flight HL7742  
-Danville, USA to Paris, France- is now open, prepare to board. Thank you." A young woman's voice boomed across the loud airport.

"Ah! That's our flight, come on kids, let's go before we're late." Mrs Flynn-Fletcher said just as we finished getting through security.

That was the part I hated about airports. Security.

It took forever to get through, and you had to take off your shoes, which was embarrassing if your feet stunk...

"Hey wait up!" I called before bending down, and tying my pink, and white converse.

"Around the bush, and through the hole..." I muttered to myself.  
I knew perfectly well how to tie my shoes, but when I'm hurrying sometimes I forget a step, so I have to say them out loud.

I quickly switched feet, and tied my other shoe, then stood at up, and jogged to catch up with the others who I almost lost in the crowd.

We made our way towards the boarding gate, and had our luggage loaded onto the plane, before waiting in line to give the attendant our tickets.

After doing that, we boarded the plane, and looked for our seats.

The seats were in two rows of three...perfect... *grins*

"Isabella gets the window!" Phineas calls, and sits himself in the middle seat.

I think he must have forgotten about my small trouble with heights...

"But-" I was about to say, but I was interrupted by the flight attendant saying something over the loud speaker. "Pleas take your seats, and prepare for take off." She said, then the speaker popped, and we could hear the engines starting.

Wonderful...

I put my small carry-on backpack in the compartment above our heads, then plopped down in the seat by Phineas, and promptly pulled the cover over the window so I couldn't see the ground when we took off.


	2. Chapter 2 -Arrival-

_(Just before the plane lands in Paris.)_  
 _~Isabella~_  
I awoke to the tickling sensation of someone's warm breath hitting the top of my head, and forehead, and immediately felt the weight of someone else's head -probably Phineas'- resting ever so slightly on my own.

I opened my eyes slowly, and realized we were still on the plane.

Bored, half asleep, and slightly curious, I glanced around at my surroundings, not moving my head that felt too heavy.

The royal blue, cushioned seats weren't the most comfortable things in the world to sit on as they were kind of hard, and the whole cabin had a faint smell of Apple Cinnamon air freshener, and stale bagged peanuts.

There was a slight hint of mold in some corners, and spidery cobwebs in others. The seats had some stains here, and there, probably from drinks, like coffee, or juice.  
This place needed some good dusting, and vacuuming...man.

But all in all my surroundings weren't too unpleasant...

Tired of this slightly uncomfortable position, and the pain in my neck, I slowly pulled my head out from under Phineas', and sat up straight, making sure to not look out the window in the process.

Ferb was awake, reading a book, and the boys' parents were listening to music together while also reading something.

"Hey Ferb." I said sleepily, grabbing the teen's attention. "How long until we get to the airport?" I asked when he lifted his head to look at me.

He held up 3 fingers, then made an "0", signaling the number 30.

"30 minutes?" I asked to clarify.  
Ferb nodded, and went back to his book.

Wow, I had been asleep a _long_ time.

I looked around for my pink, and black backpack that I had taken on the plane with me, in search for the book brought.

I found my bag on the floor next to my foot, and quickly, but quietly un-zipped it when I set it on my lap.

After pulling out my book, and opening it to the page I had been on last time I read it, I began to read the next chapter as I inhaled the fresh scent of ink, and paper you get when you open a new book.

Its just simply...full of mixed emotions, but relaxing.  
They should make it a perfume.

Ink, and paper...

For me this brings back so many memories, and emotional moments.

It's the scent I smell when I write in my old diary, or when I buy a new book.

It's what I smell when I write about Phineas, and my failed attempts to get him to finally notice me.

Ink, and paper...well...it actually has a huge part in my life.

I usually read, and write when I'm upset -or in this case; Bored- I also write when I'm happy, and excited.

I actually write all the time.  
About Phineas.  
It gets kind of old actually.

I turned the page of my book.

Wait, what did I just read?

I groaned quietly, and turned my page _back_ to where I originally started, and re-read the whole page, scanning it quickly so I could move on as soon as possible.

After having _some_ idea on what I was reading, I again turned the page, and continued with the story, noticing that it was slowly getting more, and more boring as the book went on.

"Yeah- no." I said quietly to myself, shutting my book with a quiet _thud._

I was not going to be able to concentrate on the story, not when I should be thinking about ways to get it through Phineas' obliviousness while we're here in Paris...

I honestly have to clue how I'm going to do this...but I'll find a way.  
I _have_ to, or I might just lose my mind.

I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts by a sudden movement beside me, and I heard a panicked gasp escape Phineas' mouth. "Isabella!" He whisper-yelled to himself.

At the mention of my name, I looked over at him, and he was sitting up straight in his seat, with his hands gripping the arm rests for dear life.  
His eyes were wide, and he had a terrified look on his face.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

Did he have a bad dream or something? Did he suddenly remember something he had to do? Did he look out the window?

Now that I think about it, how come heights only bother the three of us when we're on a plane, and not any of the other crazy thing they've built?

Well actually, their inventions are _so_ crazy, and fast that I don't think our brains have time to register the fact were about 300 feet in the air sometimes.

"Phineas what's wrong?" I asked him as I put my hand in his shoulder.

Still wide eyed he looked over at me, and visibly relaxed.  
Phineas looked away from me and exhaled quickly a couple times, and put a hand on his chest as if I had scared him, and he was catching his breath.

Whatever he was freaking out about, it sure was kind of funny watching him.

I smiled, and tried to hide a giggle, but it came out anyway in a quiet, sort of snort.

He looked at me again. "Um, nothing..." He said as he scratched his ear, and his eyes avoided my face.

Ha. Dead giveaway.  
That's what he does when he tries to lie, or he's nervous.

I raised and eyebrow as his eyes finally met mine.

He knows I know, and I know he knows I know.

Was that confusing?  
Sorry.  
I might have accidentally broken your brains.  
And...there goes the fourth wall...

"What?" Phineas nervously asked as I kept looking at him suspiciously.

 _"Attention passengers, please prepare for landing."_ The captain's voice kindly said over the speaker.

I just narrowed my eyes slightly in a teasing manner, then looked away from the boy next to me, and put my book back into my bag before fastening my seat belt.

We were finally in Paris.


	3. Chapter 3 -Anxiousness-

_(Still Isabella, and will stay that way unless I say otherwise.)_  
 ___  
Changing time zones suck.

It is now 6 in the evening, here in Paris and we left at 5 in the morning, eastern time.

I am _so_ tired.  
I feel like I could sit down on the floor right now, and sleep for hours.

 _Man, what a day._ I thought as I pulled my heavy suitcase behind me, and re-situated my backpack on my back while walking next to the boys, and their parents through the bustling, crowded airport as they too pulled along their luggage.

Don't get me wrong, I _love_ traveling to new places, but it definitely has its drawbacks.

As the Flynn-Fletcher family, and I made our way through security, and the busy airport towards our rental car, I couldn't help but notice Phineas looking over at me every now, and then.

It was sort of a game between us.  
I would see him glance at me out of the corner of my eye, then turn my head towards him, and he would quickly look away.  
This would repeat multiple times.

It was like he was trying to keep an eye on me, like I would get lost in the crowd or something, which was really weird since he _never_ paid me this much attention. This wasn't normal for him.

The fact that he looked worried about something made me sure something was bothering him, so as we walked out of the large building, I made my way over to him, and decided to ask him about it.

"Hey Phin." I started.  
Phineas looked down at me, and smiled as we pulled our bags through the parking lot. "Hey Izzy!" He exclaimed.

I smiled at the use of my nickname, then quickly went serious.

"Is there something bothering you?" I asked as I watched his face fill with question.  
"You seemed really...distracted, ever since we landed." I explained as I looked down at the grey pavement passing under our feet.

"No, No!" Phineas exclaimed quickly. "Just...um..." He trailed off unexpectedly.  
I looked back up at him, and he was rubbing the back of his neck while pulling his small red suitcase along.

He was nervous about _something._ I could tell.

"Does it have something to do with your freak out on the plane?" I teased.

Phineas' cheeks slowly turned rose pink, as he kept his blue eyes on the sea of cars ahead of him.

"W-well." He began, then sighed tiredly a couple seconds later. "Well, yeah." He started again. "But it's nothing really. I mean nothing you have to worry about, I was just-"

"Phineas! Isabella!" Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher called. "Pay attention! The car is over here!" She said.

Both Phineas, and I stopped walking, and turned around to find we had walked five cars too far, and the other three were waiting by the trunk of the white Honda Camry.

"Oops. Sorry mom." Phineas apologized as he, and I went back, and put our bags in the trunk then climbed into the back seat with Ferb. I was in the middle again.

The car ride to the hotel was quiet, and I could tell that Phineas was more relaxed than he was in the airport, but he still had a feeling of anxiousness about him.  
You could visibly see it.  
He was drumming his right fingers on his knee repeatedly, which made a light tapping noise, and his foot wouldn't keep still.

Very annoying if you ask me.

I _really_ don't like repetitive noises, so I pulled out my phone, and earbuds, and put on some music.  
This way I won't be able to hear his incessant tapping.

"Hey mom?" Phineas asked when we were about halfway to the hotel.  
Mrs, Flynn-Fletcher hummed as if saying she was listening.  
"We _aren't_ going to see the Eiffel Tower today are we?" He asked.

I looked over at Phineas.

What a weird question.  
Who _wouldn't_ want to see the Eiffel Tower?

"No. I think it would be best to rest. We'll go see it tomorrow." The boys' mom said from the front passenger seat as she looked at multiple glossy brochures, and maps.

Phineas looked as if he were going to say something else, but simply nodded instead, and leaned back in his seat before looking out his window again.

"I can't wait to see the Eiffel Tower." I spoke up, and both boys turned their heads towards me. "What?" I asked, and shrugged my shoulders as I looked between them.

Ferb cleared his throat before speaking.  
"It is quite the architectural feat." He said in his deep voice.

I saw Phineas nod, but he didn't say anything.

He usually isn't this quiet.  
I wonder what's wrong.

"Are you excited to see the Eiffel Tower, Phineas?" I asked him.

Phineas furrowed his eyebrows slightly before his expression went back to normal, and he smiled slightly.  
"Cant wait." He said in a strained voice.

I glanced over at Ferb, who looked as confused as I felt, and we both knew something was up.


	4. Chapter 4 -Talk-

After Mr. Flynn-Fletcher checked us in at the hotel, the five of us all went up to our rooms.

There were two, and we would be deciding who would be sleeping where when we got to the 4th floor, which was where our rooms were.

"Hey Ferb?" I said as I came up next to the silent one of the two brothers in one corner of the elevator.  
"I'm not the only one who's noticed Phineas odd behavior. Right?" I asked him.

Ferb shook his head.  
"You noticed too?" I confirmed.  
This time Ferb nodded, and look ahead of him.  
"He would probably talk to you eventually, correct?"

Ugh. One-sided conversations, are not my favorite...just sayin'.

The teen nodded once more, and our group stepped out of the large elevator into a long carpeted hallway with white walls, and dainty light fixtures every four feet.

"So...maybe, when he does...you could tell me what's wrong with him, since I know _I_ won't get him to talk." I suggested as he, and I walked behind Phineas, and his parents.

"Yes, unless he swears me to secrecy." Ferb said reasonably as his dad attempted to unlock the door to one of the rooms we had just come up to.

I blew a stray piece of my long bangs out of my face in slight frustration as we stood behind Mr. And Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher with Phineas right beside us.

"Right." I said quietly as I looked down at the dark red carpet with tiny white flowers spread evenly here, and there.

After the room was unlocked we all gathered inside.

It was a nice room, with the same color walls, and carpet as the hallway.

There was a bathroom to your left as you walked in, and two queen size beds adorned with beautiful dark red covers, and big fluffy pillows against the left wall with a white night stand, and about 2 feet of space between each one.

Against the opposite wall, about three feet away from the foot of the beds, was a large flatscreen tv on top a long white dresser thing about a foot and a half high, with a red tissue box on the left side of the tv, and two remotes on the right, with a sturdy wooden white desk, and a matching wooden chair in the left corner, and a door to our other room on the right.

There was a small but beautiful arrangement of dark red roses on top the desk, along with some paper, and a pen, which I thought was a nice touch, and a phone on the nightstand which sat under a dainty light fixture -like the ones in the hallway- by the beds, and detailed painting adorned the walls.

It was a beautiful room, and so open feeling, with light pouring in from the slider door near the desk.

As everyone was settling in, I decided to see where that door led to since it looked interesting.

After walking over, I pulled back the thin, white, and red curtains, and grabbed the golden handle, which was twisted in all sorts of beautiful designs, and pulled at it to get the door open.

Only to find it was locked...

I rolled my eyes, and flipped the little switch thingy to unlock the door, and tried again. This time it worked.

I hope no one saw that...

I stepped onto what was a balcony, and let the curtains fall back to their place behind me as I slowly walked out towards the black iron rail, which was also twisted in many beautiful designs.

The view was breath taking.

You could see -what seemed- all of Paris, and of course the Eiffel Tower was in the center of it all.

The sky was filled with a soft orange, and pink glow which cast the most gorgeous light on it all with the sun right behind the top of the tower.

I felt like I had stepped into a magical land.

You could hear faint violin music being played by a café in the streets below, and flower petals blew in the wind from a florists stand.

Someone could easily fall in love here.

"Wait, where's Isabella?" I heard panic creep into Phineas' voice as it broke into my thoughts, and a reply, that sounded like, "She's on the balcony".

"The balcony?" I heard Phineas ask.  
He sounded more worried than last time he spoke.

Someone replied again, but was interrupted by a light thud.

I quickly turned around to go back inside to see if anyone was hurt, but before I could Phineas had pulled back the curtains and was making his way out.

"Hey Phineas." I greeted. "What's wrong?" I asked as I furrowed my eyebrows, and he walked over.

"Um, nothing." He lied as he gripped the railing.

I rolled my eyes playfully. "That's not true and we both know it." I reasoned.  
"Something is obviously bothering you." I said turning back around.

"How can you tell?" He asked as he turned to me, and leaned on the railing.

"Your just a little more...jumpy, and...on edge." I replied slowly as I ran my fingers over the top of the black rail. "But..." I began again as I looked up from my hands at his face as I realized something.  
"You seem perfectly fine when your with me..." I said as a smile crept into my face.

Phineas blushed slightly.  
"W-well, um...it j-just..." He trailed off.  
"Hey, um maybe we should un-pack, and you haven't, um...chosen where your gonna sleep yet." He said hastily.

Oh, the subject change.  
Why didn't I see _that_ coming?

I huffed. "Fine. Maybe if you won't talk to me you'll talk to Ferb." I said as we went inside.  
"Go on." I urged him as I pushed him through the door connecting our rooms to where his brother was.

Phineas laughed quietly before I patted his shoulder, and walked back to the other room to where my bags were.

I do believe that's the first time I heard him laugh since we landed.


	5. Chapter 5 -The Dream-

(No P.O.V)  
"What's up with Bella?" Ferb asked his younger brother as their friend walked out of their room after shoving Phineas in his direction.

Ferb was kneeling on the floor un-packing his large black duffle bag, and putting away his clothes in one of the drawers under the tv while Phineas stood in the middle of the room not doing anything.

Phineas cleared his throat before speaking.

"Oh, she um...thinks something is wrong, and she said since I won't talk to her, to talk to you." He explained nervously as he played with the edge of his t-shirt.

Ferb stopped what he was doing, and set his hands on his knees.  
" _Well is there something wrong_?" His facial expressions asked while Phineas sat down on one of the beds.

"No." He replied quickly.

" _3...2...1_." Ferb counted in his head, and at the exact moment Ferb thought "one" Phineas spilled the beans.

"I-I'm just so scared that something's gonna happen to her Ferb, I mean what if she falls, and I'm not there to catch her? I'm not even sure why I'm so scared that she's gonna fall. I-"

"Phineas." Ferb said, stopping his brother mid-rant.  
"Start from the beginning." He instructed calmly, but inside he was finding this quite amusing.

Phineas plopped backwards onto a bunch of soft pillows, and sighed.  
"Oh yeah." Phineas mumbled as if he just remembered something important. "That would probably make more sense..." He added.

The red head took a deep breath before starting his story from the beginning.

"Well, when we were on the plane, I fell asleep, -obviously- and had a dream." He started. "But it wasn't really any kind of normal dream -for me anyway-. I dreamt about Isabella, and I walking around near the top of the Eiffel Tower."

Phineas stopped talking for a moment.

"So? What's bad about that?" Ferb asked as he closed a drawer, and put his empty bag in another right below it before sitting on the bed across from Phineas.

"Well, nothing. But then I turned around for a split second, and I heard a scream. Immediately I spun back around and saw Isabella hanging off the side of the Tower." He continued. "It felt so real, but the thing is I don't know why I'm so shaken up by a dream. I don't know why I feel so worried that something's gonna happen to her. I know that you or I will be there to save her from whatever might happen, but..." Phineas trailed off.

"Your afraid to lose her." Ferb stated.

Phineas sighed.  
"Yes." He said "But why?"

At this Ferb raised an eyebrow.  
" _Why_?" He thought in disbelief.

Ferb knew Phineas was oblivious to Isabella's feelings towards him, but he never thought Phineas would be oblivious to his _own_ feelings.

"Yes Ferb. Why?" Phineas asked again.  
"I can't figure it out. I've never been-well I've always cared about her, and didn't want her to get hurt, but I've never..." Phineas trailed off as if he were searching for the correct words as his blue eyes scanned the ceiling. "lost my mind over it before." He finished, before sitting up on the bed.

Ferb looked his brother over.

Phineas still looked worried, and kept glancing towards the open doorway between the two rooms to where Isabella was every now and then, but overall he was a little calmer, so Ferb figured it would be alright to tell his younger brother what he was feeling towards their best friend.

"Why do I care so much?" Phineas suddenly asked as he looked at his brother who was wearing his signature blank stare.

Ferb slowly started to smile, but the smile quickly turned into a smirk.

Phineas, who was able to read his  
step-brother very well, immediately got the message, and his eyes widened before looking at Isabella who was still sitting on the bed by the door in her room.

"No, no no." He said shaking his head as he looked back at his brother.  
"That can't be it!" He declared as if it were impossible, and stood up.

Ferb repeated his brother's actions, and raised an eyebrow again as if asking "Are you sure?"

Phineas sighed and looked at the floor.  
"No." He mumbled. "No I'm not." He added.

"She'll be just fine, Phin." Ferb spoke up. "She's a former Fireside Girl, and she earned the most patches. I'm sure she can take care of herself if something happens, and either of us aren't there." He finished.

"Yeah..." Phineas sighed as he watched Isabella turn the page of a book she was reading on her bed.  
"I guess your right, Ferb."


	6. Chapter 6 -Stairs-

_(Back to Isabella)_  
 _Next Morning_.

I've had all day yesterday, and I _still_ haven't thought of anything to get Phineas' attention, but I don't think I will have to try too hard since he seems to be trying to keep an eye on me.  
It's weird for him.

I tried to get Ferb to tell me what he and Phineas had talked about, but he wouldn't say _anything._  
He didn't say a single word.

Maybe I could get _someone_ to tell me today when we go to the Eiffel Tower later. I'm not expecting too much though...

"Izzy! Rise and shine! Ferb and I are going to get breakfast, wanna come?" I heard Phineas' voice say right in front of my face.

I slowly opened one eye to see Phineas leaning over so his face was level with mine.

He was smiling but you could see something else in his eyes. I couldn't tell _what_ since he had woken me up so early, on vacation _._

I _was_ sleeping in my _super_ comfortable bed hoping to sleep in so I'm not tired when we go sightseeing today, but I guess not.

"Mmm...no." I said before rolling over so I was facing the wall to my right, and pulling the blanket over my head in the process.

"Oh come on." Phineas said seriously as he pulled the blanket back, letting in all sorts of bright light.

Ow, ow, ow, ow, _ow_!

I squinted my eyes so I was able to see as I rolled onto my back while Phineas' head hovered above me.

"Please?" He asked cutely.

I only stared at him for a moment as I tried my hardest to say no, since I really wanted sleep.

I opened my mouth to reply, but what came out was a quiet squeak as my brain told my mouth to stop, and say something else.

"I-..." I started, but Phineas only gave me puppy dog eyes.

I don't have a great track record of saying no to him, and I'm not about to break that little habit so, breakfast at 7 am it is!

"Fine." I said quickly before swatting his head away so I could sit up.

"Great! Ferb and I will be waiting in our room!" He exclaimed before jumping off my bed, and going into the room he and Ferb shared, closing the door between the conjoining rooms behind him.

I sighed as I sat amidst the big red, and white comforter, and multiple pillows, along with my small handmade Phineas doll that had been "borrowed" multiple times by Irving, when we were kids.

I managed to keep the tiny stuffed toy hidden away under the sea blankets while Phineas was in here, but I'm sure he almost saw it.

I shuddered slightly at the thought.

That would have been _bad_ , if he found it. Not to mention embarrassing...

After taking a deep breath, and sighing, I grabbed my hair brush from the bedside table to my left, and pulled it through my hair, so I didn't look like a total mess as I walked around getting ready to go downstairs to where the hotel provided a free breakfast.

I know I could probably go down in my pajamas, and no one would judge, but I'd probably be the only one -besides a couple of kids- in their pjs...

I threw back the covers, and stood up on the carpet quietly, careful not to wake Mr. And Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher, who I am surprised didn't wake up when their son was in here.

I looked down at what I was wearing, which was black leggings, and a soft white t-shirt that said "beauty sleep" on it in purple cursive writing.

I guess I could just change my shirt, and I'll be good until we leave for sightseeing, then maybe I could change into jeans or something.

I went over to my suitcase, and grabbed a pink, loose flowy shirt that was slightly see-through, and had sleeves that went to my elbows.

After that, I picked out a white tank top to wear under it, and went to the spacious bathroom to change.

I like how they have a little wallflower plugged into the wall socket near the sink. The whole bathroom smells like lavender, and it's very relaxing.

They do have one out in the room, but the little glass scent bottle is empty so it doesn't work.

I quickly washed my face with my cleansing soap, and didn't bother to brush my teeth since I would be eating, then quickly I got dressed.

After all that was done, I walked out the bathroom, turning off the light as I went, and made my way to the boys room after I slipped on some street shoes.

"There you are! We were just coming to see if you were still accompanying us." Phineas exclaimed as he reached for the door handle to the door of their room that lead to the long dimly lit hallway.

"Sorry. I'm here now." I apologized and followed both boys out into the hallway where there was a large family making their way down it with all their luggage.

It looked like they just got here, taking into account their slightly disheveled looks, and the sleeping children.

That was probably what we looked like yesterday. Well, minus the children...

The three of us walked down the hallway, Phineas and I in front and Ferb trailing behind us as always.

Sometimes I feel sorry for him.  
He's never acknowledged for the things he does, people always assume it was just Phineas who did it.

Ferb is more of the background type I guess.

Suddenly feeling energetic as we walked past the stairs, I decided to play a little game.

The stairs were carpeted so there was no worrying about slipping, and there was a railing to hold onto.

"I'll race you down the stairs!" I called stopping at the top as the boys went a couple steps ahead.

Ferb gave Phineas a smirk when he hesitated, then joined me at the top, and we started out way down the long stairway.

"Guys! Wait!" He called, and I could hear him racing down the stairs after us.

Ferb was getting ahead since his legs were longer, and Phineas was catching up fast, so I resorted to the only way I knew how to catch up.

I suddenly stopped running down the stairs, letting Ferb get ahead, and Phineas to catch up a bit more before I sat on the railing, and slid down it past Ferb, and all the way down the the main floor.

"Whoo hoo!" I called as I zoomed past him.

"Isabella, wait!" I heard one of the boys call as I attempted to stop, and get off at the end, but failing, and falling in the process.

Except, the impact never came.

Phineas had suddenly appeared beside me, and caught me almost before I even had the _chance_ to fall.

"Are you okay?" He asked quickly as he set me on my feet, and letting go of me as Ferb also came down the railing, landing smoothly next to his brother.

I was perfectly fine, except for the fact that I was extremely worried about Phineas now, as well as frustrated.

He had been acting very strange, and I couldn't figure out what it was that was making him act so...paranoid.

Bringing myself back to the present I looked between the two boys.

"Yeah." I said as I smiled, and set my eyes on Phineas, who had a worried expression covering his face.  
"I'm fine."


	7. Chapter 7 -Trust-

As the boys, and I ate breakfast, the boys' parents came down to eat so after we finished, the three of us waited for them, and sat at the edge of the hot tub they had in the little sunroom right near the breakfast nook, thingy...  
-whatever it's called- and soaked our feet in the steamy hot bubbling water.

As you would guess, the sunroom was bright, and sunny, and three out of four of the large walls were glass to let the warm sunlight spill into the pool area, warming up the air, and water of the pool.

There were about 8 tables with 4 chairs around each, scattered about the room around the pool, and hot tub.

Next to the door that lead to the bathrooms, there was a large cart with white neatly folded towels that had a red stripe down the middle, and an empty bin made to look like a basket was set next to it for the wet towels.

"Kids! Ready to go?" Mr. Flynn-Fletcher asked from the entrance to the pool area.

All three of us turned out head towards his voice, and nodded.

"Yeah. We'll be right there!" Phineas answered as the three of us stood up, and dried off our feet which were almost prune like.

Haha.

I was excited to go see the Eiffel Tower today, Ferb did too, though Phineas didn't seem too excited.

Knowing him he would be practically dragging Ferb, and I out the door, and to the tourist attraction at this very moment, but no, he was drying his feet off slowly, taking his time like any normal person would.

"Phineas, are you okay?" I asked for about the 3rd time since this trip started.

Phineas' head snapped towards me after he finished tying his shoes, and stood up straight.

"Yeah!" He replied way too quick then made his way out of the pool room.

I took a deep breath and sighed as I watched him leave then looked to my right at Ferb.

"He is going to be the death of me." I stated seriously before walking out as well.

I could hear him chuckle before he followed me out.

I'm not kidding. I'm almost 100% sure he _will_ be the death of me.  
Phineas can be the most stubborn person on the earth if he really wanted to.

"Phineas!" I called out in frustration as I saw him walk out of the building behind his parents.

"Come on Ferb." I mumbled as the red head disappeared. "If your not going to tell me what's wrong with him. I'm going to find out myself." I stated as I walked out of the hotel, and into the pleasantly warm air as the wind blew my hair behind me.

I hurried to catch up with the others who were standing by the curb, waiting for either a cab or tour bus.

The entire time we waited I asked Phineas over and over, but each time it was the same thing; "I'm fine. Don't worry about it." And that was all he would say until I asked him again.

He didn't seem the least bit annoyed with me, but was again tapping his foot incessantly, and he fiddled with his fingers as if he were nervous, or anxious about something.

It bothered me to see that something was bugging him, and that he didn't seem to trust me enough to tell me what it is.

I thought we were able to tell each other anything.

I sighed after asking Phineas _again,_ if something was wrong, getting the same response, and leaned back into the black leather seat of the tour bus that we were sitting on together.

"I'll just stop asking since you obviously don't trust me enough to tell me what's bothering you." I grumbled as I crossed my arms and slid down in my seat.

Phineas quickly turned to face me.  
"No, no Izzy. That's not it, it's ju-" he started "Then what?" I interrupted angrily.

Phineas sighed.  
"I-it's just a little embarrassing, that's all." He said sheepishly as he looked out the window again.

Really? That's his excuse?

"And when has that ever kept us from telling each other _anything?_ " I pointed out as the bus jolted to a stop.

"S-since," Phineas started confidently but stopped as we stood up, along with Ferb and the boys' parents.  
"Never." He finished quietly as we made our way out onto the pavement near the Tower.

"See? Then why can't you tell me?" I argued as we walked behind the other three.

"I-I don't know..." Phineas trailed off with a shrug.

Okay. Whatever. I'm not going to get it out of him anytime soon, and I want to enjoy the rest of the day.  
Besides, I have no room to talk.

"Fine." I said with an irritated tone, before jogging to catch up with Ferb.

As I fell into step next to Ferb, I took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh.  
"I give up." I stated. "The most I've gotten out of him is that he thinks it's embarrassing." I continued.

Ferb chuckled heartily beside me as we walked along, and I glared at him.

"It's not funny!" I said as I slapped his arm with my hand.

Ferb suddenly cleared his throat as he put his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Have you ever considered that maybe he doesn't want to tell you because it might have something to do with you?" He hinted, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at me.

I stopped walking as what he said hit me like a ton of bricks.

Of course! That has to be it!

But I started walking again and caught up with Ferb once more as I realized one thing.

"Well no. Considering his...obliviousness...that never really entered my mind." I said reasonably.

Ferb shrugged.  
"You never know unless you ask."


	8. Chapter 8 -Eiffel Tower-

I sighed as the 5 of us got closer and closer to the tall metal structure.

Ferb was right.  
I will never know until I ask him.  
Yet again, I will never know if he chooses not to tell me, so...

"I guess your right." I reluctantly admitted to Ferb, as I stared up at the Eiffel Tower that towered above our heads.

It was _so big._

I mean, I knew it was big, but being up close like this, really does make you see how huge it really is.

Even though I had seen it before, I had never actually taken time to _really_ look at it since I had been so focused on getting Phineas' mind off that stupid plane for just one moment last time we were here.

"Isabella..." I heard Phineas say behind me. He sounded apologetic, and...worried?  
Actually I shouldn't be surprised.  
He's been like that all day today, and yesterday.

I turned around to face him, and gave him a questioning look, as if to ask what he wanted.

"Look, I know we tell each other everything, but I-I just...can't tell you about this." He started as he scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sure _you_ don't tell _me_ everything s-"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, and I'm sorry. You deserve your privacy." I apologized quickly as I felt my cheeks heat up involuntarily, and glanced at the ground.

Phineas was right as well.  
I don't tell him _everything._  
If I did, we might not be having this conversation.

Phineas smirked.  
"That's what I thought." He chuckled.

What does he mean by that?

"Well, shall we go up?" Phineas asked as he pointed to the top of the Eiffel Tower, -his anxiousness disappearing for a second.

I glanced upwards, then around at our peaceful surroundings, only to find that we were being left behind by Ferb, and his parents. They were already on their way up!

"Yeah..." I said as I watched them get further, and further ahead.  
"Come on!" I excitedly exclaimed as I grabbed Phineas' hand, and dragged him towards the steep stairs.

I heard Phineas' joyful laugh behind me as I pulled him along the pavement, and I smiled to myself.

It was so good to hear Phineas laugh again. He had been so serious lately.

"You don't happen to know how many steps there are?" I asked Phineas as we stopped at the bottom. "Do you?" I continued as I looked over at him.

Phineas was quiet for a moment, as if he was thinking.  
"Mmm...if I remember correctly, there are around...600." Phineas stated thoughtfully, before smiling at me.

 _Man_ that's a lot...  
We have our work cut out for us.

"Wow." I said as I looked up.  
"Well, let's get started." I said cheerily as Phineas and I started walking up the stairs hand in hand.

I didn't want to let go, and by the looks of it, neither did Phineas.

He seemed to be a little more relaxed as he admired the architecture, and babbled on, and on about who built it, and when. Yet you could still tell there was something bothering him just a bit.

As the two of us climbed higher into the blue sky, the warm summer breeze danced around us, throwing our hair around as if it were leaves, and the bright sunshine lit up the world around us.

I don't usually fear heights, but when I looked over the edge at the ground that was far below us, my stomach dropped, and I quickly took my eyes away from the ground before squeezing Phineas' hand.

We were much higher than I thought, and I was not expecting to see tiny ants instead of people milling about under our feet.

"Hey, you okay?" Phineas asked suddenly as he squeezed my hand back, and we walked across another landing, and up more flights of stairs.

I could feel my cheeks heat up a tiny bit, and butterflies fill my stomach as he squeezed back.

"Y-yeah..." I replied, looking over the edge one last time. "I just...looked down..." I added sheepishly as I turned my head towards Phineas who had been staring at me intently until I looked at him, then he promptly shook his head lightly before watching the people in front of us climb the stairs.

I wonder why he was looking at me like that.

 _Do you think he-?_ No. He probably doesn't think of me like that.

"Oh." Phineas replied as his face suddenly filled with worry, and anxiousness once again as he held onto my hand tighter as if I were going to let go -which I was not about to do.

"I know I've asked this a million times but, are _you_ okay?" I asked once again.

I felt silly asking over and over again, but he won't tell me what's wrong!

Phineas smiled slightly.  
"Yeah, just...just tired." He replied.

What? Phineas Flynn is never tired!

I sighed out of annoyance.

I'm just going to stop asking.  
I know I probably already said that, but this time I mean it.

The two of us were silent for a moment as we tried to catch up with Ferb, and the boys' parents who were a flight ahead of us, and above our heads.

Despite the height, the view -or what you could see of it from inside the Tower- was so beautiful.  
There were buildings spread out as far as you could see, but the midday sun that shone down cast the most stunning shadows on...well, everything.

"I think we're almost at the top." Phineas stated, as he dismissed our previous conversation as if it had never happened.

Finally! My legs are starting to burn.  
They hurt, and almost feel like jelly.

Now I was excited.  
I wanted to see the view from the top, and walk around. The view must be amazing.

"Really?" I gasped suddenly. "Well come on!" I exclaimed before hurrying up the steps, making Phineas walk faster as well, since we're still holding hands.

We were still holding hands...  
Has it not registered in Phineas' brain that we're holding hands?  
I mean, I'm not complaining, but wouldn't he have noticed, or let go?

 _Unless...-_  
Nuh-uh. Nope. He doesn't like me. It's impossible. He's so oblivious to my feelings, how would he be able to figure out his own?

 _Maybe Ferb helped._ My conscious suggested.

Stupid consciousness. It's filling my head with silly ideas that are probably never going to happen.

Should I just ask him?  
Don't you think that would be the easiest way?  
Yeah, me too.

"Woah Isabella, slow down." Phineas said humorously as we started on the very last flight of steps.

(I'm going to be all un-realistic, and pretend the the area on top the Tower is all open, and doesn't have those fence thingies at the top like I've seen in pictures, and say it's like it is in cartoons, like P&F, okay? Okay.)

"I'm excited!" I defended as we got nearer, and nearer to the open air where you could easily see the clouds.

"Just-...be careful." Phineas warned as we stepped into the open air.

I ignored Phineas' warning, and let go of his hand to walk nearer to the concrete ledge that was just above my hips in height, and looked outwards.

The view was beyond words.

We were so high in the sky, that you could tell the air was a little thinner than down on the ground below.

I know heat rises, but up here with the wind, it was nice and cool, like on a crisp summer morning.

I put my hands on the grey concrete ledge, and leaned over just enough so I could just see the bright green grass below, and tiny people waiting in line to come up the steps into this seemingly new world.

It would be so scary if someone fell off. It's very curious that they don't have higher barriers or something.

"It's amazing," I stated as I stood up straight, and Phineas, and Ferb stood on either side of me. "Isn't it?" I asked as I looked to my left at Phineas who seemed to be much closer to me than Ferb.

Again, I'm not complaining or anything. It just seems very out of character for him. _Very._

"Agreed." Ferb said as he looked around at his surroundings.

"Yeah. Very high up too." Phineas pointed out slowly.

I nodded. "Yeah, but you have to admit it's pretty cool." I said as I leaned over again.

"Isab-" Phineas started as I saw him reach for me out of the corner of my eye, then he suddenly stopped for some unknown reason.

"Hmm?" I asked beforhead towards him slightly.

I was about to stand up straight again, until my right arm collapsed under me, and I fell forwards, almost falling off the tall structure.

Out of panic, I let out a cry of exclamation as my toes barely left the ground beneath my feet.

Thankfully Phineas had grabbed my arm so I was no longer in danger of falling to my death.  
In a swift, smooth motion, I had been tugged away from the ledge, and was safe.

I didn't know Phineas had such quick reflexes.

"Thanks Phineas." I said shakily.

I was fine, but that almost gave me panic attack.

My head had gone down so far, to me it certainly looked, -and felt- like I was going to fall off the side, and the fact that my toes had left the ground didn't convince me that I would be alright.

"Are you okay?" He asked quickly as he tried to find my eyes, but I was too busy watching Ferb chuckle by the ledge.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Thank you." I nodded as I brushed off his hand that was still holding onto my upper arm.

"What's so funny, Ferb?" I asked my friend who still looked very amused as he lightly rested his left hand on the ledge, and put his other in his jean pocket.

Ferb suddenly stopped smirking, and applied his blank stare once more.  
"Nothing." He answered after clearing his throat, and walking over.

As Ferb took his place beside his brother, he jabbed Phineas' arm with his elbow, making Phineas coil back, and grab his arm.

"Shut up." Phineas declared as he took a side-step away from his brother.

Ferb, who had the look of innocence spread across his features, just shrugged his shoulders.

I don't think I'll ever be able to read Ferb as well as Phineas can, so I have no idea what Ferb was "talking" about.

I shook my head, and smiled.

"You guys are weirdos." I stated before turning around, and sitting on the warm metal bench that was sitting near the ledge.

Phineas put an arm around my shoulders as he sat down next to me. "But we're _your_ weirdos. Right?" Phineas asked as Ferb sat on other side of me.

I giggled.  
Yes...they were _my_ weirdos.

I smiled happily.  
"Definitely."


	9. Chapter 9 -Whatcha' Doin' Here?-

After exploring the Eiffel Tower for about half an hour, we went to see the Arc de Triomphe, and many other places all around Paris.

It was fun seeing all the landmarks, and tourist attractions.

Of course we didn't look at all of the landmarks since we took a break for a late lunch, and wanted to look at some tomorrow.

We decided to stop at a cute little café that was set back from the rest of the buildings, and was around the edge of a little square with a pretty fountain in the middle.

It was nice and quiet, unlike all the other places we had been, which was good since I was starting to get a headache from all the noise, and heat.

After the little accident on the top of the Eiffel Tower, Phineas went mostly back to his old self, but still seemed to be keeping an eye out for me.  
It was quite curious, especially the fact that we've held hands a couple times since then, and he _didn't seem to mind._

Someone even stopped us on the street, and said we were such a cute couple.  
Phineas did tell her we weren't together, but I don't think it ever occurred to him to stop holding my hand. It was really cute.

"What are you ordering?" Phineas asked as he leaned over in his metal chair next to me to look at my menu as our group sat outside in the sunshine.

"Um, I can't pronounce it, but I think it's like, a cranberry pecan chicken, sandwich thing." I explained humorously as I pointed to the small picture printed on the laminated menus.

"Yum." Phineas replied before looking back at his menu. "Ive decided, but I can't read in French either, so I have no idea what I'm getting." He chuckled as he put his menu down after closing it.

I giggled.  
"Doing a blind taste test sort of thing, aren't cha'?" I asked as I poked his arm.

Phineas grinned.  
"Yeah, you could say that." He admitted just as the waiter came back with our drinks.

After we had ordered, we waited for our food while we watched, -well, I watched- people walk by, and ducks swim in the fountain, splashing water into the air when they flapped their wings.

As I watched the ducks with way too much interest for it to be normal, I saw a glimpse of a familiar figure sitting on the bench across the square with a girl, who also looked familiar.

I couldn't see them clearly since the fountain was in the way, so I just shrugged it off, and turned my attention back to the conversation being held at our table.

One of them was obviously a guy, and looked a little bit like Buford, but I don't think it was him since I don't think Buford likes traveling, besides he said before we left that he was going to visit his grandma or something, and I _know_ she doesn't live in Paris.

"Right Isabella?" Phineas suddenly asked me.

I turned my head towards Phineas. "What?" I asked, since I hadn't been paying attention.

"I said that we enjoyed seeing the Eiffel Tower, right?" Phineas repeated before taking a sip of his water.

"Oh!" I replied. "Yeah. The view was really pretty." I added quickly. 

~Time Skip~ 

After we had eaten, Mr. And Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher and the boys went inside to pay, and use the bathroom, and I was curious to see who had been sitting on the bench on the other side of the square so I rushed over to the fountain and started to slowly walk around to the other side as I waited for the boys to come out.

"Yeah, Hamlet is the first semi-educational play they've ever put on." I heard a raspy voice say.

That sounded a lot like Buford...

Tired of the "suspense" I quickly walked the rest of the way around and saw Buford and some girl with short black hair talking on the bench.

Huh! What do you know? I was right!

"Buford?!" I asked in astonishment, then I looked closer at the girl he was sitting with as I walked closer. "Brigitte?!" I asked, even more surprised.

Both turned their heads to look at me, and they looked just as surprised as was.

"I thought you were visiting your grandma. Whatcha' doin' here? I asked.

"Isabella?" Buford asked. "But, I-I thought you were on vacation with Phineas and Ferb in London." Buford said -who looked utterly confused, and almost scared as I confronted him.

Wow. Buford does _not_ listen well.

" _Paris,_ Buford. _Paris._ " I corrected. "I'm on vacation with Phineas and Ferb in _Paris._ " I emphasized. "Besides, what are you doing here?" I asked again as I stood in front of the two.

"Buford came to visit me." Brigitte explained with her thick French accent. "Isn't that sweet?" She asked.

This of course made Buford blush, which I didn't know he could do.

Huh, I guess Brigitte has that effect on him...how cute!

"Oh _I_ see _..._ " I trailed off as I heard two familiar pairs of footsteps approach.

"There you are Isabella!" I heard Phineas exclaim as he came up to me.  
"Hey! What are you doing here Buford?" He asked as Ferb took his usual place next to his brother.

"I'm visiting Brigitte." Buford said as Brigitte patted his arm with her hand.

"Oh, well that's nice." Phineas said politely. "Come on Isabella, mom said we're heading back to the hotel." He explained before walking off with Ferb.

"Nice to see you again Brigitte." I said before waving, and following the boys.

Now why would Buford come all the way to Paris to see Brigitte?  
Well, that's an obvious answer.  
He still likes her!


	10. Chapter 10 -Ticklish-

Sadly we had to go back to the hotel soon after we saw Buford and Brigitte because Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher had a head ache, and a touch of heat stroke.

I feel a little bad for her. Heat stroke is _not_ fun. It's quite miserable.

One summer I got heat stroke, and I was stuck indoors for two days before I felt well enough to even leave my room.  
It can get really hot in Danville during the summer, and if your not careful, and forget to drink lots of water, you can easily get sick.

On our way back to the hotel we took two black taxicabs since only four people could fit in the taxi at a time, and we had five people, so Mr. And Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher took one cab, and the boys and I took the other one.

Luckily the driver spoke English, -though he still had the french accent- and it was fun riding with him. He was very funny, and had a great sense of humor.  
Sure his jokes were a little corny every once and a while, but funny all the same.

"Well, here you are kids. Your parents are right behind us." The driver said as he put the taxicab in park under the large overhang by the front doors of the hotel.

"Thank you!" Phineas and I said simultaneously as he, Ferb, and I climbed out of the car.

As Mr. Flynn-Fletcher paid the drivers, we went inside with the boys' mother, and made our way to the elevator, since Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher didn't want to climb the stairs.

I have _got_ to figure out what it is with all the strange behavior coming from Phineas.  
I can't figure it out! I only have one possible solution that isn't even really considered possible!  
I'm getting nowhere!

"Tag!" Phineas suddenly whisper-yelled in my ear as he tapped my left shoulder and started running towards the elevator along with Ferb down the long hallway.

I swear, these boys never mature.  
But, I do like a game of tag, so...

"Hey! Come back here!" I commanded as I quickly made my way past the elegant front desk, then running after them after I had rounded the corner.

"Boys! No running!" I heard Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher call through the hall we were halfway down.

The boys, -upon hearing their mother's voice- stopped immediately, and I didn't, since she said _boys_ , so I ran up to them, quickly tickling Phineas' sides before going on my way, -not stopping my mid-afternoon run down the nicely decorated hallway.

"Hey!" Phienas called after me humorously.

Suckers!

I slowed my pace to a jog, and slowly back down to a swift walk as I neared the elevator, and I had almost made it before I felt a pair of strong arms grab me around me waist firmly as I heard Phineas say something to Ferb.

Oh dear...

"I've got 'er! Quick Ferb!" He exclaimed before I was suddenly being tickled by two pairs of hands instead of one.

I was outnumbered!  
And they knew I where I was _really_ ticklish, which was another unfair advantage.

"No!" I said between laughs. "That's...not fair!" I exclaimed as I struggled to get away.

"Tsk tsk, Izzy...you know this is payback..." Phineas said as he kept tickling my sides.

"It's...two against..one! Ah! Stop!" I called as I tried to pry the boys' hands away from my stomach while they both laughed.

How do I never learn my lesson? This always happens!  
Why do I do this to myself? Because I want attention? What?!

Hey...I have an idea that they'll surely fall for.

"Ow!" I suddenly exclaimed as I stopped struggling.

I was perfectly fine.  
I knew that the boys would never want to hurt me intentionally, and if they did I might not hear the end of their apologies, -so this was the perfect way to get them to stop.

What? When you hang around with a bunch of boys all the time, and your the only girl in the group, you learn to out-smart them easily.

Almost immediately I was released from the boys' grasp, and I was free.  
"Oh gosh! Are you okay Izzy? We didn't mean to hurt you." Phineas said as he spun me around.

Both boys looked equally concerned as their parents came up behind the two, and I couldn't help but smile at them as I walked backwards towards the elevator that was right behind me.

"I'm fine!" I said cheerfully as I gave them an innocent grin, and pressed the button for our floor.

"Boys, do act your age once and a while would you?" Mr. Flynn-Fletcher requested as he and Linda walked past the three of us, into the elevator.

"I've read that boys don't really mature too much after age twelve or so, so I don't think there's any chance of them acting their age anytime soon." I giggled as both boys also got in the elevator -Phineas giving me a playful glare- before I followed.

"Well that's promising." Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher noted as we started moving upwards.

"Maybe they'll mature a little more when they get girlfriends." Mr. Flynn-Fletcher suggested.

I giggled as I watched Phineas turn pink next to me.  
It was cute, but I can't help but wonder...  
-No. Not possible.  
I gently shook my head to clear it of any ridiculous thoughts.

"We're right here guys..." Phineas pointed out as the elevator stopped at our floor and chimed when the doors slid open.

"Oh? I hadn't noticed." I responded sarcastically before making my way out into the hallway, and smiling.

As excited, and happy as I would be to find out that Phineas returned my feelings towards him, I'm almost positive that he doesn't.

He's never shown any signs, -besides this trip of course- that he did, so there isn't enough "evidence" that he does yet.

Maybe I could...test him.  
Or find some sneaky way to get an answer out of him without actually asking, since that would be awkward.

..Yet so much simpler...  
But I never found myself as one to take the easy way, so unnecessary, complicated plan it is!

...I just have to think of one...

* * *

 **Yep...there's the cringy ending.**  
 **Tell me what you think!**  
 **Sorry if this is a little weird...I wrote most of this while I was slap-happy so...**  
 **Have a great day!**  
 **~Joy**


	11. Chapter 11 -Liar-

"Why don't you kids go watch a movie or play some games together in the boys' room or something?" Mr. Flynn-Fletcher suggested as we made our way towards our two rooms, which were labeled "221A" and the other, "221B".

He was surely wanting us to give his wife some space to feel better, and I honestly thought that was the best choice.

When you have heat stroke, -or whatever you like to call it- you don't want the sun to shine, and get in your eyes, and you don't want to move or do anything, so it would make sense why we probably wouldn't want to be around.

"Sure! Sounds fun!" Phineas exclaimed as he pulled a key card out of his back pocket, and unlocked room "221B", which was the room the boys shared.

Ferb nodded in agreement and so did I before we followed the red-head into the darkened room.

This might be another perfect opportunity to figure out this whole "Phineas" thing.

"I'm going to put on my pajamas, you guys can pick what we do." I said as I took my shoes off and quickly, but quietly went to the other room to grab my pajamas before coming back to "221B" and changing in the boys' bathroom.

Of course, their bathroom wasn't the cleanest, but it was still pretty neat, and tidy for boys.

There were a couple damp towels on the floor here and there, -most likely from their showers this morning- and some items scattered about the counter.

It was only 6:00 and we hadn't eaten dinner, but we can get room service or something. I know we won't be going back out. Besides, these clothes are getting a little uncomfortable.

"So what are we doing guys?" I asked as I came out of the bathroom in my soft pink pajama shorts, and white t-shirt, and set my folded day clothes on the corner of the dresser thingy the TV was set on.

"We were thinking of playing some card games, like liar, go fish, etc." Phineas explained as he watched Ferb shuffle the deck of cards while they both sat on Phineas' bed.

Now let me just say; Ferb has some mad card shuffling skills.  
It's quite amazing. He must have practiced a ton to be able to shuffle like that. I can't even begin to explain it.  
I don't think I can even shuffle cards normally.

"Sounds fun." I said as I sat down at the foot of the bed, and faced the boys while Ferb dealt the cards.

He divided up the deck between the three of us, so I guessed we were playing liar.

This should be fun, especially since it's really obvious when Phineas lies.

"Liar?" Phineas guessed as he looked at the hand he was dealt, and Ferb nodded.

"Aw! You know I always lose!" Phineas complained sifting through his cards one by one.

I think that's exactly why Ferb chose this first. But that's just a guess. Ferb is impossible to read.

"One ace." I started and threw my only ace facedown into the space between the three of us.

You see, when you play liar, you first divide up the deck between the players, then someone goes first and lays down an ace, and saying how many he/she has. Then the next person (you usually go around the circle) puts down however many twos they have and say something like "three twos" and so on, like "one three".

Now, say it was my turn and I had to put down however many fives I had, and...I didn't have any, then I would "lie" and put down a different card, but say it's a five. (Following me?)  
If someone suspects I was "lying" then that person says "liar" and if I lied, I would say so and then the pile of cards would be mine, now if I _hadn't_ been lying, then the person who called out the so called liar, would take the pile.  
Then the first person who runs out of cards wins.

It's a fun game.

"One two." Ferb said as he threw his two onto the pile.

We went around the circle a couple times, -Ferb saying as little as possible, while making hand gestures- and so far no one seemed to be lying.

"Uhm..." Phineas said, before clearing his throat and sifting through his cards.  
"One King." He said and threw his card onto the now rather large pile, before scratching his ear.

I don't know why I find amusement in this...

"Liar!" I called a little too loudly out of excitement, and grabbed his card to look at it.

It was a king.

"What?!" I said out of disbelief as stared at the card.

I saw all the signs! I swear!

Phineas laughed.  
"Gotcha'!" He said as he pushed the pile of cards towards me.

"On the bright side, you'll have so many cards, you'll be able to keep track of the ones you don't have, therefore able to tell who really is lying." Ferb pointed out as he looked at his cards.

I scrunched up my nose in disproval as I picked up the pile of about 25 cards, and started sorting them by number.

Smaller numbers in the front, bigger in the back.

By the time I had all my cards in my hand all sorted, it was my turn to play an ace, which -oddly enough- I didn't have.

Someone either has all four aces, or they're split up between the boys somehow. Great. I might not get past them.

I picked the closest card in my hand to an ace -it was a three- and put it down, saying, "One ace" before looking a down at my cards and calculating which number I would have to put down once we made it around the circle  
again.

"Liar" Ferb called before putting a card down after he had pushed the five card pile towards me.

"Dangit." I muttered, which earned a chuckle from Phineas.

We played that game for about an hour, and each time I lost. Usually I'm good at card games. But not today.

* * *

 **Cringy ending: Check...**

 **Sorry I didn't post earlier.  
School started up again today, and then I went to a friend's house.  
Busy, busy...**

 **Well, I hope you had a good day.**  
 **~Joy**


	12. Chapter 12 -Love?-

We played card games for a while.  
Another hour or two at the most.  
It was fun!

There were laughs, and giggles, -some teasing here and there- but it was all in good spirit.

After we had played a few rounds of "Spoons" the boys were hungry, so we ordered a pizza from this fancy pizza place a few buildings down that happened to deliver.

It was the best pizza I ever had, and way better than the pizza we got back at home in Danville.

I bet that stuff would taste like cardboard compared to this.

I read on the little brochure that was left in our room, that all their ingredients were grown locally and organically, and always fresh.  
 _That's_ why it tastes better.

I don't think I'll ever want to eat pizza back at home again, unless I make it myself.

"Hey, want to watch a movie?" Phineas asked as I came back from the bathroom and plopped down onto his bed.

"Sure." I responded as I thought of how to set my master plan in motion.  
Well, how to start _planning_ my master plan, I still have no idea what to do.

Maybe if I managed to convince the boys to let me pick the movie, I could pick one that was a roman-  
No, that's stupid.

Maybe I should just ask him why he's acting weird.  
That would be easier than thinking up a complicated plan that might give me an answer that isn't correct.

"What should we watch?" I asked the boys.

Phineas was quiet for a moment.

"How about..." Phineas began as he started smiling.  
"Space Adventure adventures in sp-!" He started to sing loudly as he jumped up and held his arms out dramatically.

"Shh!" I shushed, -holding a finger to my lips. "Your parents are probably sleeping in the other room." I added in a hushed voice.

"Oh. Right." Phineas said sheepishly as he let his arms drop, then he started singing it much more quietly. "Space Adventure, adventures in-!"

Thankfully, Ferb interrupted him this time with a firm, "No." from his bed.

I find it amusing that Phineas still enjoys watching those old space movies that have been around since we were kids. Maybe even before that.

He says it's because he likes to study the special effects, and all that, but everyone knows he loves more than the computer generated characters.

"But, Ferb I thought you loved those movies." Phineas said, -sounding rather disappointed as he sunk back down onto his bed next to me and looked at his brother, who simply shook his head.

"Oh." Phineas said before turning to me. "You like them, right Izzy?" He asked hopefully with pleading eyes.

Noo! I must resist! I must say no!

"I-..." I started as I looked at Ferb as an attempt to resist Phineas' blue eyes.

This morning I had given in, and I can't do it for the second time today.

Honestly, I was starting to _strongly_ dislike those movies.  
We've watched all of them so many times, I've lost count.

Ferb desperately shook his head with wide eyes as if saying, " _No, don't do it. Please!"_

"Not...really..." I hesitated as I brought my eyes back to Phineas.  
"Not many girls enjoy space movies. Including me." I added carefully.

Phineas' eyes widened.  
"Wait. Your a _girl_?!" He asked incredulously, -leaning closer as if to get a better look at my face.

My eyebrows shot up, and I leaned away from him.  
He truly _can't be serious._  
 _"Your a girl?!"_

I sighed tiredly.  
"Really?" I asked in a _sooo_ not amused tone of voice.  
It was like an "are you serious?" kind of tone.

I've got my work cut out for me if I'm ever going to break his obliviousness.

I don't think Ferb could help himself.  
He laughed out-loud as I stood up.  
He laughed clear as a bell, and I'm sure everyone in the rooms around us could hear him.

I shot an angry glare in his direction and he stopped abruptly.  
"Sorry." He muttered, -still trying to hide a smile.

"Wow. Phineas. That is _not_ funny." I stated seriously as I stared at the white ceiling and tried not to let my eye twitch.

No wonder it's been so hard for him to notice me. He hadn't even thought of that fact that I was the opposite sex of him, and the other boys! That I was a female and he was male!

Wow. This boy...  
What have I gotten myself into?

Wait. Don't answer that.

"Yeah...you know what? I'll be right back." I said calmly as I started walking towards the other room.

"No, Izzy. Wait!"Phineas said after me as he reached out and grabbed my wrist before I could go anywhere.

"It was a joke." He explained, -half laughing as he pulled me towards him.

I only gave him a questioning look.

"It was a _joke._ I was just kidding." He emphasized as he brought his shoulders up before letting them drop.

"Could've fooled me..." I muttered as I dropped down on the bed beside Phineas once again as I heard Ferb snicker from his bed as he kept reading his book.

I don't know exactly _what it is_ that he finds so amusing about this, but I sure am starting to think he knows something I don't.

"It would be completely awkward if you secretly weren't female." Phineas added seriously.

I only sighed dramatically.  
"Let's just watch your movie." I said,  
-giving in to his idea and waving my hand dismissively as I fell back onto the bed.

"Hmm. Okay." Phineas said as he shrugged and sat up against the pillows near the head up the bed, and putting his long legs in front of him, -which almost touched my stomach even when I was at the foot, because he was so dang tall.

Phineas grabbed the remote and turned on the tv before making his way to Netflix and signing into the account the three of us shared.

I saw he had picked my profile, so I sat up and made my way to the head of the bed before sitting next to him and seeing what he was doing on there with all my girly chick-flick and romance movies, along with some comedies.

"Whatcha doin' on my profile?" I asked him almost flirtatiously -as always.

"I thought, that since all my profile has is space movies, -which you don't like- we could pick a movie from yours." Phineas explained as he held out his hand as if he wanted me to take it.

Okay. This is getting weird.  
He is acting more like himself now, but...completely _not_ like himself at the same time, and I can't figure out what it is. It so out of character for him.

Yet, I would never pass up an opportunity to hold his hand, so I didn't.

"Your acting weird." I stated suspiciously as I let our hands fall between our legs.

Phineas gave me a puzzled look before Ferb -surprisingly- spoke up.

"He's in looove." He teased with a sing-songy voice as he smirked, and looked over the top of his book.

This hit me right in the face.  
Was he joking?  
Maybe finding an answer to my question won't be so hard after all.

But, Ferb doesn't usually fool around, so does that mean-?

"I am not!" Phineas shot back defensively as he chose a movie, and glared at his brother.

"What?" I asked quickly, -turning my upper body to face both boys.

"Nothing." Phineas answered -quick to dodge the subject.

I'm not letting him get away with this.  
I'm going to find why he's acting weird.

"Oh, no no no." I said as I shook my head and smiled. "I want to know who my best friend is in love with."

* * *

 **Uggghhh! I've been trying to put in this super cute part, but it's taken two chapters to get to it!**  
 **Maybe three. I don't know, but I'm getting close, I hope.**

 **Have a great day/night!**  
 **~Joy**


	13. Chapter 13 -Love-

If Ferb says Phineas is in love, then I'd believe him, because Ferb doesn't mess around when it comes to emotions.

I should know. He helps me all the time with my "Phineas" issues.

But if Phineas really is, then that _would_ explain the different behavior...

"Come on! Who?" I urged him.

"Nobody!" Phineas exclaimed looking me dead in the eye.  
Ooh. Scary.

"Ferb just said that because I mentioned that I was worried about someone yesterday, and he took it the wrong way." He explained.

I sighed as I looked back and forth between the boys.  
"So nobody is in love with anybody?" I confirmed a little sadly.

Thankfully (not) the boys were kind enough to answer at the same time.

"Yes."  
"No!"

I groaned out of frustration as I let myself fall on the pillows next to Phineas.

Phineas was worried about someone.

He mentioned it to Ferb _yesterday_ and we were already in Paris by then.

So he would either be worried about leaving someone back home or worried about someone here.

Now Ferb wouldn't accuse Phineas of loving said person if he was worried about anyone but...me.

Yet, Phineas could also be worried about someone back home as well...

"Okay," I started, -determined to get my answer whether they wanted to give it to me or not.  
"Phineas said he was worried about someone." I stated and both boys nodded. "Is that someone, here" I pointed to the bed but I obviously meant Paris. "Or back home?" I questioned.

Phineas scoffed. "Pfft...I-I don't have tell you..." He answered nervously.

No he didn't, but that doesn't mean I'll tell him that.  
"Yes, you do." I said seriously, -not giving him a way out of this.

"Here." Ferb answered.

"No! No no no. Ferb-just...shhh!" Phienas exclaimed, -glaring at his brother again, who was clearly having fun with this.

I got the answer I need, so I'll be kind and drop the subject.

Phineas was worried about me.  
 _Phineas_ was _worried_ about _me_?!  
Aww!

"Okay. We can watch the movie now." I said, -content with the answer as I sat up, grabbed the remote from Phineas' lap and looked at the movie he picked before hitting play.

Surprisingly he happened to pick my favorite.

"Wait. So your just going to drop it," Phineas snapped his fingers. "Like that?" He asked as he looked at me.

"Yes." I answered as if it were obvious while I watched the opening scene of the movie.

That's why he was so anxious!  
He was worried about me!

That's why he was all "just be careful" and all that. And I think that's why he asked about _not_ going to the Eiffel Tower in the car on the way here yesterday.

It all makes sense!  
Well, most of it.  
The whole hand holding thing is still throwing me for a loop.

I don't want to say he likes me, because what if he doesn't? I don't want to get my hopes up and then have them burned to the ground.

"Okay." Phineas said rather cheerfully, as he looked back towards the screen.

But, maybe I could believe -just for a while- that he does.

All the signs may be there, but knowing him, he probably would think of them as normal, since I'm really the only female best friend he has.

I smiled to myself as I watched the movie and got a wicked idea from the scene playing before us.

Well, it wasn't really _wicked_ as it was...well I don't know what it is, but it's genius. In my opinion.

Taking my left hand that was holding Phineas' right, I brought his arm over my head before setting it on my shoulders, letting go of his hand and letting my head fall on his shoulder, all in one smooth motion before smiling to myself once more out of pure happiness.

Phineas, -who hadn't really had time to react- tensed up a little once he realized what was happening, but soon relaxed.

And I coulda sworn I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye as he gently squeezed my shoulder with his hand.

Hm. Maybe I _am_ right.  
Maybe Ferb is a little right too.

But I still _highly_ doubt he's in love with me.

* * *

 **Sorry that this chapter is a little short, (It's 720 words not counting AN)**  
 **But I hoped you liked it!**  
 **Sorry that it took me for what seemed like ages!**  
 **I know you must've been waiting for this chapter so I hope I didn't disappoint anyone.**  
 **Thank you for being patient, loyal, and beautiful/handsome readers!**

 **~Joy**


	14. Chapter 14 -How Do You Know?-

I awoke on a sunny morning in Paris with a start, and something warm wrapped around me comfortably.

I already knew what it was and who the arm belonged to, since I remembered falling asleep last night with my head on Phineas' shoulder, but what I don't remember is how Phineas and I were laying down on top the covers when I had clearly fallen asleep sitting up.

I still had my head resting in the crook of his shoulder, with my right arm resting on top of his torso,  
-hugging his waist, and Phineas had his arm wrapped around my waist while his left arm lay around the top of his head, and he snored lightly.

It was kinda cute how he could sleep so soundly.

He was still in the same clothes he had been wearing yesterday, while I was in my pajamas; I guess he didn't think about changing last night.

I wouldn't be surprised if the thought hadn't entered his mind since he's so scatterbrained.

...I say that in a good way.

I sighed out of content and snuggled closer to Phineas.

If younger me were here right now in my place, she would be squealing and giggling like there's no tomorrow, and probably would wake up Phineas.  
Luckily, I've matured.

Suddenly waking up, Phineas inhaled sharply as he raised his head, and right hand so it was hovering just above my waist as he slowly opened his eyes. It was almost like he wasn't expecting to wake up with me still in his arms.

Eh...he probably wasn't.

After Phineas realized that it was just me, he relaxed and let his head fall back onto his pillow with a sigh as he closed his eyes again, -letting his hand rest on my waist once more.

"Good morning. Did I scare you?" I giggled as I smoothed out the few wrinkles in his striped shirt that he wore so often.

I just loved that shirt.  
Of all the ones I've seen him wear, the white and orange striped one was my very favorite.  
It reminded me of all the fun summers we had as kids.  
Of course we still have fun summers, but it felt much more adventurous when we were kids.

"No." Phineas replied defensively, and way too quickly, while keeping his eyes closed.

"No?" I repeated his statement in the form of a sarcastic question as I sat up and poked his stomach as if to get him to admit the truth.

Phineas opened his blue eyes that sparkled in the morning light that poured into the room from the sliding glass door, and smiled before rolling them as a sign of giving up.

"Okay," He said. "maybe a little." He admitted sheepishly as a slight blush spread across his cheeks.

I giggled again as I began finger-combing my hair with one hand, so it didn't look like a total frizzy mess.  
That would be a little embarrassing.

"What?" I asked self-consciously when I found Phineas staring at me intently, just like yesterday when we were climbing up the steps of the Eiffel Tower.

There was something in the way he looked at me that I couldn't quite grasp, but it made me believe in what Ferb said the night before more and more, and I wanted so bad to be the one Phineas was supposedly in love with.

It didn't seem so impossible anymore.

Phineas quickly shook his head and cleared his throat as he sat up, before scratching his ear nervously.

"N-nothing." He replied hesitantly as he cast his eyes downward so they were looking at his lap.

I felt a little let down after hearing him answer. There was still so much he wasn't telling me. I could tell.

But obviously he didn't feel comfortable telling me, and since I had already tried so hard to get him to tell me something the day before that had ended up being told eventually, I tried not to worry about it and make myself trust him, and to believe that he would tell me on his own.

"...okay." I replied, but as much as I tried to hide the small amount of sadness/disappointment in my voice, it didn't do any good.

I suddenly made my way to the foot of the bed, and set my feet onto the soft white carpet before standing up and walking to the bathroom so I could partake in my morning activities, such as getting dressed and ready for the day.

"Hey, Izzy?" Phineas asked quietly since he didn't want to wake up Ferb.

I stopped walking and turned around to face him.

He was still sitting on the bed, but with a concentrated look on his face, as if he were trying to solve a very hard math equation in his head.

"Yes, Phineas?" I replied, -giving him my undivided attention as always.

"How do you know when your in love?"


	15. Chapter 15 -Love Never Fails-

I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised to hear him ask me that.

 _"How do you know when you're in love?"_

"Well..." I said thoughtfully as I came back across the room so I wouldn't have to speak as loud.  
I didn't want to wake up Ferb.

I haven't had to think about how I knew I was in love for a while, so I had to think very hard, back to all the talks my mother and I had, and how I felt when I was pretty sure I was falling in love with Phineas.

That seemed so long ago.

Well, it was. Almost a lifetime...

I took a deep breath before sitting back down at the foot of the bed next to Phineas.

"You know your in love when your willing to do anything, just to stay with the one you love, and have them happy." I began, -recalling one of the very first pieces of advice from mamma.

Phineas nodded thoughtfully as if telling me to go on.

"You know your in love when you always want to be with that person, or when you never want to see them sad or upset." I continued.

"And it's not just outward appearance, -though that can be a bonus- that really matters. It's what's inside that counts.  
It's...its..." I trailed off as I tried to find more words.  
"Sometimes you just... _know_."

Really, this was a hard subject to describe as it can be a little different depending on the person.

"It's a terribly complex subject to explain, but mamma used to tell me this saying a very long time ago, when I was just a little thing, and it seems to simplify things by a lot." I said.

The simpler the better, or else I'm afraid Phineas might get something out of this that is completely incorrect.

"Go on." Phineas urged.

I don't know if it's a bible verse or something, but I always kept it memorized because I found a lot -all of it actually- very true.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  
Love never fails." I recited by heart, and watched as Phineas' eyes went wide as if he were taking in a lot of new information and was trying to keep track of it all at once, which was probably exactly what he was doing.

"Wow, Izzy." Phineas breathed as he stared at the wall ahead of him.  
"I didn't know you knew so much about that subject." He marveled, -turning his head to look at me.

I smiled at his innocence.

Sometimes it could be annoying, but most of the time it wasn't, like right now.

"Well, let's just say I've had experience." I said mysteriously as I stood back up. "But I should probably shower now." I added before making my way towards the nicely decorated bathroom once more and leaving Phineas to himself.

"Thanks Izzy." I heard him say from the room as I closed the door.

"Anything for you Phineas." I whispered to myself as I locked it, and grabbed a white fluffy towel from the silver metal rung hanging on the wall near the door, and set it on the counter so I could access it easily when I was done before turning on the warm water of the shower.

I wonder why he wanted to know such a thing.

Maybe what Ferb said really _was_ true.  
Maybe Phineas is in love, and he just doesn't really know it, or know what to label his feelings.

But then again; why would he defend himself like he did?  
Why would he deny and deny, as if telling himself it wasn't true?  
It was almost like he _did_ know what he was feeling, but didn't want to admit it.

Since I'm already asking myself questions, I might as well ask myself, - _again_ \- ... _Who?_

 _Who_ does he "love"?

I asked myself this a hundred times over as I ruled out any other possible options, and people while massaging shampoo and conditioner into my long hair under the warm water that ran down my back.

I desperately wanted to believe it was me. But that sounded a little greedy, and self-centered. Besides, it was almost near impossible that it was me.

I've lost count of how many times I've been reminded that I'm his "best friend". Just that. And he seems to want to keep it that way forever.

I stood under the warm water and let it run over my hair, and wash out any extra soap as I washed my body.

After I finished I turned off the water and stepped out onto the soft wine red bath mat as I grabbed the towel from the sink and dried off.

It was then I realized I had forgotten to grab clothes, and all that wonderful bathroom stuff.

"Great." I groaned as I wrapped my towel tighter around me before going to the door and opening it a crack.

Of course I forgot my bathroom stuff, and my clothes.  
The other stuff isn't as important as the clothes though. I _had_ to forget clothes.

"Hey um," I said through the slightly open for as I cleared my throat. "Phineas?" I said rather sheepishly.

"And Ferb, if your awake." I added.

"Yeah, Izzy?" I heard Phineas acknowledge from his bed.

"Would-would you mind turning around? I...forgot my clothes."

Oh man. I bet my face is red as a tomato.

I heard Ferb chuckle, -probably despite his efforts- and I knew he was awake.

"Haha, very funny, Ferb." I said sarcastically, -rolling my eyes.

"Sure, Izzy!" Phineas answered cheerfully.

Gosh, this was embarrassing.

I waited a few seconds after I heard them shuffling around before eying the door between the two rooms and darting out of the bathroom and into safety, -not looking at the boys once.

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief as I silently closed the door so I didn't wake up the boys' parents.

"You're good boys." I said through the door before walking over to my suitcase that was sitting open on my un-made bed.

As I held my towel up with one hand I dug through my clothes with the other and pulled out undergarments, a pink crop-top that had a black infinity sign across the front with the word "love" as well, **(Picture in media)** and dark wash jean shorts that had a small rip near the hem on the right leg.

I quickly went to the bathroom and got dressed before taking care of my hair that was a frizzy mess, and all those other fun bathroom things.

After my hair was straight and frizz-free, I made my way back to the boys' room.

I knocked on the door, since it was morning and someone could be changing out of their pajamas.  
I didn't want to walk in on any boys today.

"Everybody decent?" I joked through the door.

"I could ask you the same thing." I heard Ferb say.

I rolled my eyes before turning the non and opening the door a crack.

"I'm taking that as a yes and coming in." I stated opening the door all the way and entering.

"No, wait Izzy!" I heard Phineas exclaim, but it too late.

Crap crap crap...this is not what I wanted.

I quickly closed my eyes and put my hands over them in a panic.

I may love Phineas, but not _that_ much.

"Just kidding." He added with a snicker.

My hands flew from my eyes which fluttered open to see Phineas fully clothed in clean clothes still sitting on his bed, chuckling to himself.  
Ferb who was now dressed as well, also found this amusing as he had that twinkle in his eye as he smiled slightly.

"I hate you guys." I said over dramatically, -taking a pillow from the bed closest to me and throwing it at Phineas' head.

"You may "hate" us but your stuck with us." Phineas stated, -easily dodging the pillow. "Forever." He added seriously with a mock death glare.

He was definitely teasing, but I couldn't help but hope that was true.  
It would be a nightmare if I lost my boys. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. They're basically my life.


	16. Chapter 16 -Sour-

_The lemon ice cream idea is credited to_  
 _Jackunspoke_ _on Wattpad_. T _hank you for suggesting it! Sorry I didn't use it earlier._  
 _If anyone has any ideas for this story, feel free to request them!_

_ _On_ _with the story!_ _

"Hey look, ice cream!" Phineas suddenly exclaimed as the three of us walked down a sidewalk in front of Linda and Lawrence near a park.

I looked where Phineas was pointing, and saw a small pushcart ice cream stand sitting under the trees of the park in the shade where the icy treats wouldn't melt. It was silver and had a sign on the front of it displaying the name of the company, but it was in French so I wasn't able to read it well.

It also had a flamingo pink umbrella that was set to the side, since there was no point in putting it up while you were in the shade. Because the entire point of an umbrella is to keep cool in the sun, or keep you from getting wet in a rainstorm. If there's neither there's no use for the umbrella.

"Mom, can we get ice cream? Pretty pleeease?" Phineas practically begged like a little child as he turned around to face his parents and walked backwards.

It was amusing to see Phineas, a sixteen -almost seventeen- year old still acting like he was ten.

I guess it's his optimism mixed with his child-like wonder that has helped him achieve that.

It's adorable nonetheless.

Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher, -who was feeling considerately better- nodded and smiled as her husband smiled also, and reached for his wallet that was located in his back pocket.

"Alright." He said, -taking out a 20 dollar bill. "Go ahead." He finished, and handed the bill to Phineas who thanked him and excitedly dragged me away before I could do the same.

"Come on Ferb!" He called behind us to where Ferb was strolling casually behind us with his hands in his pockets as he studied the trees above.

I laughed as Phineas slowed down and we now walked slowly hand in hand through the park, probably so Ferb could catch up.

"Phineas, you're such a little kid." I half-joked, -shaking my head.

Phineas chuckled.  
"How so?" He asked, -looking at me.

"Pretty pleease?!" I mocked, -leaning towards him, and steering him towards the edge of the path a little bit.

Phineas laughed and brought us back to the center of the pavement.  
"Okay, okay, I see what you mean." He admitted.

"What flavor?" Phineas asked as we came up the stand that had a line, but it was short enough you could see the menu from where we were standing.

"I feel like a third wheel." Ferb stated as he stood next to us.

I giggled.  
"Oops, sorry Ferb." I apologized, but he only smiled at me as if saying it was okay.

"I think I'll try lemon." I stated, -answering Phineas' question.  
"I've never seen that flavor anywhere before." I added as we stepped forwards.

"Hm. Me either. That sounds interesting. I'll have to try it." Phineas said. "The usual for you Ferb?" He asked, -turning to his brother who nodded.

We waited for the people in front of us to pay before we walked to the front and ordered.

"May we have two lemon cones, and a vanilla please?" I asked, and by the look of the man's face, he hadn't understood a word I said.

Great. I don't speak French.

The man said a log string of something in French that I did not understand.

Dang.

I laughed nervously.  
"Anyone speak French?" I asked, -turning to the boys.

Surprisingly Phineas nodded.

I thought he couldn't speak French?

"Me." He said a little sheepishly before ordering for us.

"Deux cônes de crème glacée de citron et une vanille s'il vous plaît." He said before smiling at the man.

I was shocked.  
He never mentioned this to me!

"How can you speak French but not read it?!" I asked him incredulously.

Phineas shrugged.  
"Honestly? I don't know. I was never able to." He said casually as he watched the man scoop ice cream into waffle cones.

"You never told me!" I exclaimed lightheartedly as the man started fixing Ferb's cone.

"I thought I mentioned that I could easily pick up new languages." He said innocently.

No? I don't remember that.

"Oh." I said, -giving up on the conversation.

"Deux cônes de citron pour le couple adorable," The man said as he handed us the two lemon cones, and made Phineas blush.

"Je vous remercie" Phineas responded.

Whatever the man said must've been embarrassing, or something.

Now I desperately wish I could understand French!  
I want to know what he said to make him blush!

"Et de vanille pour l'homme du silence." The man added, -giving Ferb his ice cream.

What did he say!?  
I want to know!

"Je vous remercie." Phineas said again, -still sounding rather embarrassed before he paid and the three of us walked away.

As we started walking back to the boys' parents Phineas tried to change the subject.

"You know...now that I think about, lemon ice cream is probably really sour." He stated, eyeing his treat suspiciously, -traces of blush still noticeable across his cheeks.

I nodded as I watched him.

"You try yours first." Phineas said suddenly, -turning to me as we walked down the path with Ferb.

"Okay." I agreed. "But only if you tell me what the man said to you that made you blush." I negotiated, and managed to get Phineas to blush again.

"He said, 'two lemon cones'."Phineas, answered with a shrug, but I knew he was lying because his ear was obviously bugging him, except he couldn't scratch it because both his hands were full.

"Bull." I stated. "That's not all of it." I confronted, -licking my cone since it was starting to melt all down the cone.

Oh! Mistake! Mistake!  
It's sour! Really sour!

I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried not to react.

Wow! That is _strong_!

"Something wrong, Izzy?" Phineas asked, -glad the subject had temporarily changed.

"No." I lied. I wanted to see his reaction when he tried his without him knowing how _dang sour_ it is.  
Man.

"I just want to know what he said!" I wined, -bouncing up and down like a little kid, and trying by not to drop my ice cream.  
"Pwease?" I said, -giving him a pouty face and batting my eyelashes.

"Okay, okay." Phineas gave in.  
"He said, 'Two lemon cones for the, adorable couple." He practically muttered, as he blushed again.

I held back the urge to burst out laughing. Ferb tried also but ended up snorting despite his efforts.

Awww! Poor innocent Phineas!

"You do know, Phineas that when you hold hands with a girl you can't be surprised when people automatically assume that you're a couple." I giggled.

"Yeah, yeah. Haha." Phineas said sarcastically and rolled his eyes.  
"I told you what he said, now you have to try the ice cream." He said, -obviously not in the mood for my teasing.

"I already did." I said. "It's not that bad." I half lied.

It wasn't bad, just really _really_ sour.

Phineas shrugged and took my word for and tried his ice cream, which was a mistake because I came so close to hearing him swear for the first time in my -and probably his- life.

"Oh! F-... _dang_ that's sour!" He exclaimed, -squeezing his eyes shut and crinkling his nose in the cutest way possible.

Ferb and I laughed as Phineas shook his head.

That was definitely worth it!

"You said it wasn't that bad!" He said to me.

"It's not!" I defended. "It's just really strong!" I giggled.

"Aw you..." Phineas trailed off, -nudging my shoulder.

"The man was right." Ferb stated, and Phineas and I gave him a confused look.

"Adorable." Ferb explained, -motioning to us, and taking a bite of his ice cream.


	17. Chapter 17 -Rainy Day-

The next day we all awoke to the soft pitter-patter of rain hitting the windows, and dripping off the balconies above our own.

*Record scratches* (lol)

Well, actually that's what everyone _else_ woke up to.

Apparently I had slept in since I had been very tired from our previous day of sightseeing, and I got woken up by someone, -probably Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher- so we could go to some museum since we couldn't walk around outside today unless we wanted to get drenched in the pouring rain.

"Good morning Izzy!" Phineas greeted when I entered the breakfast area on the main floor of the hotel.  
Ferb simply waved before taking a bite of his waffle.

"Morning." I said as I made my way past the yummy French breakfast foods to the small fridge they had set on a counter that had juice, milk for cereal, and yogurt.

After grabbing a spoon and some strawberry yogurt, -not my favorite, but it was that or blueberry which isn't much better- I sat down at the table the boys were sitting at with their parents.

I was worn out.  
I wasn't tired, or sleepy, or sore, just...worn out.  
You know what I mean?

I almost felt like I was in a daze.  
It's really weird...

Maybe I'm just having an off day, or that time off month is coming up soon.

"Hey, Izzy, you okay?" Phineas asked, -sitting across from me.

"Hm?" I said, -blinking and looking up from the table at him.

"You've just been...starin' at your yogurt there." Phineas pointed out as he stabbed a piece of his waffle and pulled it through a puddle of syrup on his plate before putting it in his mouth.

"Oh." I replied, -glancing at my yogurt that was sitting in front of me before taking off the lid, and stirring it with my spoon so it was a smooth consistency.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered before taking a bite, and mentally cringing as I wondered why in the word I had chosen to eat yogurt this morning.

I knew how that weird sensation of almost nauseousness felt, and I only got it with the strawberry dairy product.

I knew how it effected me, and made me want to vomit every time something with a similar smell came my way.

I knew all of this...yet ate it anyway.  
It's disgusting.

Usually I'm fine with eating yogurt, but there's just something about the artificial strawberry flavoring that somehow makes the consistency gross and nauseating as I try to swallow and not think about it.

It doesn't usually work.

"Are you sure?" Phineas asked cautiously.

Is it just me? Or is he being all "overprotective" and "almost nervous wreck" again like our first day here?

Maybe it's the yogurt, and this weird feeling of being in a daze.

"Your looking kinda...green." He stated. "Hypothetically, of course." He added quickly as if he would somehow hurt my feelings, -which he didn't.

"Phineas is right Isabella." Mrs' Flynn-Fletcher stated. "You don't look too well." She added.

Wow. Maybe this is a little worse than I thought. It's not just in my head.

"It's the yogurt." I stated as I looked down at the light pink, swirled, gooey mess sitting in the refrigerated plastic cup in front of me.

"Strawberry makes me nauseous." I added as I stupidly took another bite.

I had to eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  
It gets your metabolism started, and besides; It must've cost a fortune to stay here, so I probably shouldn't waste the food.

"Then why'd you grab it?" Phineas asked as he shot me a worried look.

He's sweet, really.  
But when he acts totally out of character like this, it makes me a little...suspicious.

"Because she obviously didn't want blueberry." Ferb stated matter-of-factly before taking a drink of orange juice.

"Because..." I trailed off. "blueberry does the same thing...and I wanted to give strawberry a second chance...I guess." I answered stupidly.

"Oh," Phineas said. "well, I could go grab you something else if-"

"No, is okay." I interrupted. "I'll live."

I quickly finished my yogurt and got up to throw away the cup, and got a bottle of water to see if I could wash down the taste.

I'm definitely having an off day and do not feel good which is weird since I felt perfectly fine yesterday.  
Hmm. Maybe it was the ice cream or something.

After I came back, and the boys had finished eating, the five of us made our way to the rainy, wet parking lot where our rental car was parked, and climbed in so we could go to some museums.

They weren't my favorite. I always found them kind of boring, but whatever.  
Sometimes it can be interesting.

I've always enjoyed looking at ancient Egypt exhibits though.  
I don't know what it is that intrigues me, but it's so interesting to look at mummies, and how the Egyptians lived.

When we got to the first museum, Mr. and Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher went to a new exhibit the museum was opening that was probably antique related or something, -I wasn't paying attention- while the boys dragged me -not literally- to the dinosaur bones.

I'm thinking today is going to be a long day.

* * *

 **Sorry that the end is...iffy.**  
 **I tried to get this chapter out for you guys because I really want to write the next one which I think -and dearly hope- will be interesting.**

 **So yeah.**  
 **~Joy**


	18. Chapter 18 -Close-

The museum was actually quite fun!  
Of course, Phineas and Ferb can make anything fun, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

I didn't feel much better as the whole building smelled faintly of strawberries for some strange reason.  
But I got complete -almost- undivided attention from Phineas the whole time!

He would occasionally ask if I was okay, or if I needed some water.  
He was so sweet despite the fact that him acting out of character like he was made a little warning bell go off in my brain every once in a while.

It was like my head knew something was up. Like it knew something was changing, but I ignored it even though I had an idea of what was happening.  
I didn't want my hopes up or anything.

"Are you doing okay, Izzy?" Phineas asked for about the fifth time upon entering the fossils exhibit.

"Yes, Phin. Thank you." I answered calmly as I saw Ferb roll his eyes and smile slightly out of amusement out of the corner of my eye.

I have a feeling that Ferb knows exactly what's going on, and I've asked him a couple times today, but he just shrugs and walks away! He's no help to me.

"Well, okay." Phineas replied reluctantly before walking across the room to look at a dinosaur footprint displayed on a pedestal and surrounded by red velvet ropes on all sides.

I glanced at Ferb who was standing beside me, looking at some small fossils displayed on the crisp white wall, behind clear, fingerprint free glass before turning to face me.

He cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow, -something which I was never able to accomplish- as he smirked and clasped his hands behind his back.

"I'm not annoyed with _him._ " I corrected, staring him directly in his dark blue eyes that held that mischievous glint as he figured out that when I said him, I meant _him,_ not his brother.

Yes, I was annoyed with Ferb Fletcher, which was definitely a first.

He was usually very easy to get along with, but this week he had managed to get on my nerves.

Whenever I asked him something about his younger brother, he would always answer honestly, so why the sudden change?

"I know your close to figuring it out." Ferb told me as he put his hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts, and brought up the confusing dilemma, also known as Phineas.

I rolled my eyes and sighed as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Or not." He added.

"Oh, I've figured most of it out," I reassured him. "I'm just having a hard time convincing myself to believe it." I added.

It was true.  
I was so close to figuring out why he was acting weird, and the information I had was a little...out there for Phineas.

I never thought -but I hoped- that he would ever be interested in girls, so now that he seemed to be, I was a little taken aback. I thought it was impossible.

Apparently not.

* * *

 **Sorry this is so so super short, I just needed to end the chapter here. You'll like the next one much more though, I hope.**  
 **Luv ya!**  
 **~Joy**


	19. Chapter 19 -Lost-

After we walked around the museum for a bit we were all hungry so we decided to find a restaurant near by instead of eating at the cafeteria the museum had.

We heard from a couple other people that the food there wasn't exactly...delicious.

"I'll be right back." I said to the group. "I have to use the restroom. I'll meet you guys outside." I added.

"Alright, dear." Mr. Flynn-Fletcher said. "Do hurry. I believe the boys are wasting away." He added dramatically.

I nodded and walked away with my white purse strap hanging from my shoulder.

I found my way to the bathroom and entered one of the stalls before hanging my purse on the little metal hook on the back of the door and doing my business.

When I was done I washed my hands and exited the bathroom before making my way to the big glass front doors where I could see the Flynn-Fletchers waiting patiently.

When I walked out and was met by the bright sun I squinted a little from the brightness.

It must've been really dark inside.

"Ready to go?" Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher asked when I joined my second family once again.

I nodded and we decided to walk through town instead of driving since it was such a nice day.

"Izzy, are you-?" Phineas started to ask when we were a few blocks from the museum.

"Yes Phin, I'm okay." I interrupted before giggling as the boy beside me blushed profusely.

"Okay, well, I was just-..." Phineas trailed off. "just checking." He finished before catching up with Ferb who was far ahead since he had such long legs, -leaving me to myself as I looked at the flowers we were walking past.

"Miss!" A French man with a very heavy accent said as he practically jumped out in front of me, -holding a bouquet of beautiful white lilies in his hands.

He was a little chubby, had a small mustache upon his upper lip, and dark brown hair. He had a white and blue horizontal striped t-shirt, black pants and shoes and a dark blue beret finished off the traditional look as sparkles of excitement danced in his green eyes.

"Would you like to purchase some locally grown Lillies?" He urged as he held the flowers towards me.

I smiled politely and held my hand in front of me and shook my head, -signaling a "no thank you", but he wouldn't have it.

He went on about how beautiful they were and how fresh and sweet smelling, as he tried harder and harder to convince me that I should buy them.

As he babbled on in his accent I could barely understand, I glanced behind him to see the Flynn-Fletcher's getting farther away as they neared a busy street corner.

"No, thank you." I tried again as I attempted to walk past him, but he moved with me and started his speech from the beginning.

"Excuse me, but I have to catch up with my friends." I insisted as I again, smiled politely -this time a little more forced- and walked around him, leaving him to catch another buyer.

 _Thank goodness I got away from him!_ I thought as I quickly walked towards the street corner where I had seen the Flynn-Fletcher's turn left onto another busy street.

I couldn't see them, but I was sure they were just around this corner.

As I was walking, someone bumped into me making me stumble back as they kept walking.

"Excuse you." I grumbled as I recovered and turned the corner only to find a crowd of people, and no Flynn-Fletcher's.

I searched over the crowd for orange, red, or green hair, but I didn't see anyone. Great.

I quickly merged into the bustling crowd in the next street and searched for anyone I knew, and looking over the heads of people to see if I could spot Ferb, who was the tallest of the group, but no such luck.

I felt my stomach drop and my breathing start to speed up as I started to panic.

I didn't speak French, so I couldn't really ask for help.  
I didn't want to go back to that other guy, and I have no idea where the boys and their parents could be.

I only realized I had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as people walked around me, until someone accidentally stepped on my foot.  
After I silently cursed the woman in high heels, I made my way to the outside brick wall of a building and leaned against it as I figured out what to do, -searching the crowds at the same time.

I know! I could call them!

At this thought I reached for my purse I assumed hung from my shoulder, but only found air in the place where my small white bag would be.

I looked down and noticed I didn't have it! I must've left it in the bathroom back at the museum, which I have no idea how to find my way back to!

I groaned as I slid down the wall and set my head on my arms which were now resting on my knees that had been pulled up to my chest.

I just _had_ to put my phone in my purse.  
Usually I don't do that since I like to put it in my pocket so I don't have to carry my purse around all the time, but today I had unfortunately chosen to break that pattern.

I guess I could find my way back to the museum or the hotel, or maybe walk around and check all the restaurants and cafés for the group, but I'm afraid if I walk around, I'll get even more lost.

There's no winning.  
Being lost in a country where you can't speak the local language isn't the greatest idea in the world.

"Do you need help, young miss?" I heard a scratchy, accented male voice ask me.

I couldn't place his accent, but it certainly wasn't French.

* * *

 **Ooh, who is it?**  
 **You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out, or maybe the next.**

 **Anywho!**  
 **Today I'm playing violin in the choir for my co-op!**  
 **I hope I don't get all super nervous. Yesterday at the dress rehearsal I was shaking so bad I kept Maine horrible squeaks and weird noises because my hands couldn't control the bow very well! It was horrible!**  
 **~Joy**


	20. Chapter 20 -Search-

_(No P.O.V)_  
"Now." Mr. Flynn-Fletcher declared as the family turned the corner.  
"Where should we eat?" He asked the group.

Ferb shrugged and Phineas stated he didn't really have an opinion, -neither of them thinking anything of the fact that Isabella hadn't seemed to have an opinion either or that she hadn't spoken at all.

"Why don't you choose, dear?" Linda suggested as she looped her arm through his while walking down the busy sidewalk before all four crossed the street.

"Well, alright." Lawrence gave in.  
"How about this little restaurant here?" He suggested as the group came up to a nice, casual restaurant with big show windows and a bright blue awning.

Everyone agreed so the family went inside and got a table for five.

After sitting down they all noticed one person was missing.

"Hey, where's Isabella?" Phineas asked as he noticed the empty seat next to him and that his best friend was nowhere in sight.

"Maybe she's in the bathroom." His mother suggested as she sat herself down across from him.

"Well, I haven't heard her speak for a while. She's been unusually quiet." Ferb pointed out as he sat on Phineas' left side. "It is possible she's been gone for quite a bit and we haven't noticed." He added as he now recalled not physically _seeing_ her either, but then he had just guessed she was in his blind spot or something.

"What?" Phineas asked with a calm, even tone, but you could plainly hear the panic creeping into his voice as quickly and smoothly as ink flowing from a pen while he visibly tried not show that this news had upset him.

"I said-" Ferb started again.

"No no, Ferb, I heard you. I just-" Phineas sighed.

"Why don't I go check for you?" His mother suggested as she stood up from her chair to go check the bathrooms for the raven-haired teenager, and -most likely- future daughter-in-law.

"Thanks, mom." Phineas replied as he tried to think up reasonable excuses as to why she had disappeared, all the while kicking himself -metaphorically- for not noticing and making sure she was okay. Isabella already didn't feel well, and if she got lost she might not be able to think as clearly.

Phineas would never forgive himself if she got hurt. He somewhat felt it was his responsibility to protect her ever since that dream he had on the plane a couple days ago, and the short talk he had had with Ferb about his feelings.

Phineas was pretty sure he liked Isabella now, and after mulling over the idea for a while and discreetly -or what he thought was discreet- asking for advice from the girl he needed advice for, it had been decided. He liked Isabella, and the thought made him happy. Though, not as happy as when he thought of the scent of Isabella's soft, black hair that had greeted him that sunny morning two days ago, -or the thought of her in general, for that matter.

"Well, she's not in the bathroom, or the rest of the restaurant for that matter." Linda declared as she returned to her spot across from the boys.

Phineas suddenly stood up, quickly enough for his chair to make a squeaky scuffling noise as it almost fell over and caught the attention of a few other diners.

"Well, we have to go find her!" He exclaimed as he saw a streak of black run past the window out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Phineas. Slow down a bit." His father suggested.

Phineas didn't want to wait, he wanted to go out there right now and find her before she got hurt.

"But, dad! She hasn't been around this part of the city before and she doesn't speak much French! How is she going to find her way back?" Phineas exclaimed.

He didn't get upset easily, or often, and his parents knew he wasn't going to listen to any of them as they watched their son drag Ferb, -who had an apologetic look on his face- out of the building.

"Where'd she go!?" Phineas asked as he searched in the general direction the black streak had been going.

He wasn't sure if it had been Isabella or not but it was possible that it was.

* * *

 **Okie-dokie! So, I didn't have help with the writing on this one, (though I did get an offer) but** **PhinbellaFerbnessa** **(On Wattpad)** **did give me some tips and a couple ideas, so thank you for those. And those who helped with my other stories; thank you** _ **so so**_ **much. Your help is highly appreciated!**  
 **~Joy**


	21. Chapter 21 -Stranger-

_Recap: "Do you need help, young miss?"_  
 ___  
I slowly looked up from my knees to see an older man standing in front of me on the sidewalk.

He looked familiar, yet I didn't know why, but he reminded me of a teacher, or rather a pharmacist, with his mint green dress shirt, dark purple tie, black slacks, and matching shoes. The whole look was finished off with a white lab coat, which led me to believe that if he really _was_ a teacher, he would be working in the science area of some sort, or he was some kind of doctor, or pharmacist.

The man did look rather friendly, but my gut tugged my insides, obviously trying to tell me not to give a positive answer to this stranger.

"Umm..." I started hesitantly as I peered at his chocolate brown eyes before looking him over once more.

He slouched, which gave off almost an intimidating look, but if I had to guess his height I would estimate around six feet.  
He was on the thinner, weak side, -no offense to him of course- and had an odd shaped head that slightly resembled Phineas', but not much.

If I say no and walk away, with chances that he will follow me, I should be able to easily outrun him if necessary, since he didn't quite look like the fittest person around.

"No, I'm okay." I finally replied, after some thinking. "I'm just waiting for a friend." I lied before cautiously standing up and offering a small smile in hopes he would accept it and walk away.

No such luck, I suppose.

I started walking away from the man, but he only followed me and my stomach tied itself in knots as I discreetly sped up.

What could he possibly want from me?I don't have anything that he would want to steal! I forgot my purse, I have no money, or phone, nothing!

I tried to lose him in the crowd but it wasn't thick enough and there weren't enough people to hide behind.

Even though I wasn't running yet, my breaths came short and fast as I slowly started to panic.

Wouldn't anyone else feel the same if a complete stranger started following them in a strange country?

"Hey!" The man called out from behind me. "Stop! Come back!"

This only made me break out in a run, but my heart sunk to the pit of my stomach as I heard quick footsteps behind me, signaling the man started running as well.

 _Creep_ I thought.

My feet made a light _slap, slap,_ soundas my flip-flops hit the cement that was flying beneath me, and I started wishing I had worn better shoes as I ran past a quiet café and turned the corner.

The man hadn't quite caught up with me yet, and he hadn't made it past the corner either. This gave me the opportunity to turn down the small, dark alley way that connected the two different streets.

As I walked down one side of the small space just large enough for a single car, I thanked my lucky stars there weren't any homeless people or bad guys lurking in the shadows that I had previously forgotten to think of when I entered the shady alleyway.

I was alone now, which may or may not be a bad thing since I didn't have anything to defend myself with, but at least I wasn't being chased anymore.

My heart had finally reached a steady pace as I neared the end of the alley, until a pair of strong hands grabbed my shoulders, keeping me back in the dark and out of sight.

Out of fear and, mostly surprise, I screamed as I jumped about half a foot in the air before the bony hand was clapped over my mouth and I was pulled back towards a couple green garbage bins that stank of waste and trash.

"Shh," the man whispered in my ear as I struggled against his hold.

I couldn't possibly be that far away from wherever the Flynn-Fletcher's were, and I desperately hoped someone heard my scream, or else I would have to fight this guy off myself.

"You wouldn't want to give yourself away, would you?" The man chuckled. "That would take away all the fun."

Although he tried to sound intimidating, it didn't work and I found myself rolling my eyes before I licked the hand that he had over my mouth.

"Oh! Oh, _gross!_ " He exclaimed as his hand was instantly pulled away from my face and he wiped it on his pants.

"That is disgusting, you know that, little girl?" He continued as I spun around to face the man and searched for something to defend myself with.

The man, still preoccupied with his hand, babbled on unintelligibly before saying something to me.

"Why would you do that? Why would you lick my hand unless you-" his face lightened with realization.

Of course this alleyway was super clean and there wasn't anything useful in sight.

"Ohh! I see you wanted to-" he started again but I simply took a few steps back so I could run away.  
When he realized what I was doing, however, his arm snapped towards me and kept me in place.

"Help!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, but my cry seemed to go fly into space without anyone hearing.

I yanked my arm from his grasp and slapped him across the face.

"Hey! That hurt! You're not supposed to fight back!" He exclaimed as he held his face with one hand and reached with me with the other.

I quickly stomped on the man's foot with all the force I could muster, and he let out a cry of pain as I ran past him to the other end of the alley.

"Norm!" He suddenly shouted, and a huge robot that seemed to have a painted on suit and a happy face that was plastered across its head, stepped out of a garbage dumpster and blocked my path.

It was about eight feet tall and had an annoyingly happy mechanical voice that said, "Hello! My name is Norm!" In a choppy and chipper way that echoed in the small space in which we were located.

I was trapped.


	22. Chapter 22 -Defeated-

stared at the huge robot in front of me and felt like screaming again, just for the sake of being found and mostly out of frustration, but I didn't want to set off any triggers the robot may have and get myself in anymore danger.

"Would you like a muffin?" Norm asked as he took a step closer, even though there were no muffins in sight.

In response I took a step backwards, away from the robot towering above me, and glanced over my shoulder to see the man approaching me from behind.

 _This is it,_ I thought. _This is probably the end...I'll never be found._

Granted, that's probably a little melodramatic, but I don't know this guy! Anything could happen, and I don't think the Flynn-Fletcher's know where I am!

Well, worse comes to worse, I can always use my fireside-girl training against them.

I stood between the two threats as I looked more carefully at my surroundings and adrenaline pumped through my veins.

A couple garbage cans, and dumpsters sat against the walls of two large brick buildings that had back doors and emergency fire escapes attached to the sides of each structure.

Those might be useful.

When the man threw his arms around me again and sent us both towards one of the brick walls, I stomped on his foot once more and spun around to face him once he let go of me.

Before he had time to think, I took a step back and sent a roundhouse kick to his head, sending him to the ground in an unconscious heap.

I took a deep breath before turning and facing the robot again.  
I couldn't do the same to him, since he was too tall, but maybe I could find an off switch or something.

I ran towards the robot and at the last second, just as he reached down, I ducked between his legs and kept going until I could turn around and take a running start and jump onto his back.

I climbed as well as I could while the robot's arms swung at me and searched for an off switch.

After hanging onto his metal torso for dear life, I saw one just above my head at the base of the head and reached my arm up to turn it off.

Just as I was about to flip the little switch, I slipped, and my hand hit something as I fell to the ground, knocking the wind out of my chest.

As I struggled to breath, I hoped that what I had hit was the switch and I was glad to see that, that was exactly what had happened and the robot was now frozen with his arms in the air.

"What on-?" A familiar voice said from behind me and I stood up, taking gulps of air into my lungs in hopes of restoring my former breathing habits.

"Isabella!" The voice gasped, and I turned around to be attacked with a hug that belonged to none other than Phineas Flynn.

The extra pressure around my rib cage didn't help with my breathing problem, but I welcomed the act of affection anyway and hugged him back briefly before gently pulling back.

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came due to my lack of breath and panic swelling inside my stomach from the feeling that I couldn't fill my lungs with air.

Closing my mouth, I half-smiled as Phineas' own smile faltered.

"What-?" He asked but his voice faltered also before he rephrased his question.

"What's wrong?" He asked suddenly as he held my arms and his eyes searched my face before he took a step back and examined me. Probably for injuries.

My lungs burned, though _I_ knew I was getting plenty of oxygen, my body didn't seem to think the same and demanded more air.

I opened my mouth again and took in another huge amount of air and letting it out before patting my chest as if to say I couldn't breathe.

"What?" Phineas asked as Ferb came to stand beside him.

I opened my mouth to try and speak again, but I couldn't bring myself to do so, since there seemed to be no oxygen in my lungs. Only an annoying amount of pressure and the light burning sensation.

I repeated the motion from before and Ferb caught it this time.

"She feels like she can't breathe." He voiced. "The air must've been knocked out of her chest."

I quickly nodded my head as if to say he was correct.

Phineas' brows furrowed in concern.  
"Will she be okay?" He asked brother.

It was Ferb's turn to nod as he answered Phineas.

"A forceful blow to the abdomen, or by falling on the back can result in a temporary paralysis of the diaphragm that makes it difficult to breathe." He explained. "She should be fine in a minute or so."

"Right." Phineas said as if he knew that but had temporarily forgotten.

Phineas glanced behind me at the paralyzed robot and man laying unconscious on the pavement.

"Well," Phineas sighed. "You think it would be okay to leave them here?" He asked.

I immediately shook my head as I forced air through my windpipe.

"Dangerous." I forced out.

The boys seemed to understand as Ferb nonchalantly pulled out his phone and handed it to Phineas, as if to call the police before returning his hands to his pockets.

Since they were in Paris, it would only make sense for Phineas to call since he was the only one who could speak the language here.

"I'll call the cops or something," Phineas voiced as he dialed the emergency number for the area.

"Ferb, how about you go get mom and dad?" He suggested as he put the phone to his ear.

Ferb nodded and turned around before heading out of the alley and turning right.

 _"112 , quelle est votre urgence?"_ A female emergency responder voiced over the phone's speaker.

* * *

 ***Takes deep breath***  
 **Whew! Another chapter finished!**  
 **I just have...a lot to do...so I'm going to go play outside**  
 **Anyway, hope you had a great summer day! ~Joy**


	23. Chapter 23 -A Figment Of Imagination-

Tears finally bubbled to the surface as we walked into our hotel room.

I had managed to hold it together, with adrenaline pumping through my veins, ever since that man first laid his hands on me, but now that we were behind the safe walls of the hotel, everything came crashing down on me like a huge wave.

All the panic, terror and fear finally showed itself in the form of salty tears that dripped down my face.  
The boys sat me down on one of the beds and I was vaguely aware of Linda and Lawrence popping their heads through the doorway to see if everything was alright, but after seeing that the boys had it under control, they sent sympathetic glances my way before disappearing back into their room.

I felt silly, crying as hard as I was, but it was just so scary. That had never happened to me before and I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to deal with the emotional leftovers of the situation.

"Shh, Isabella, i-it's okay." Phineas soothed as he awkwardly put his hand on my shoulder.

Phineas was obviously not the best when it came to dealing with negative emotions, like tears, but he was doing his best.

Ferb, on the other hand, was accustomed to calming me down, since I often came to him with my Phineas problems, so his gentle back rub was more soothing than Phineas' shoulder pat.

"W-what do I do?" Phineas stuttered. "I-I don't know what to do, someone tell me what to do." He insisted.

I couldn't help but let out a small laugh at his attempts as I wiped my eyes.

He was so sweet and kind, but he had no clue what to do. I love him, but he's practically useless at the moment.

"U-um..." Ferb knew this but faltered as he tried to think of some way his brother could be helpful. "Water," He finally declared as he sat on the other side of me.

Phineas jumped up and went to the bathroom to get a cup and some water.  
I could hear the faucet running as he filled the cup.

I didn't really need water, but it made Phineas feel like he was helping.

I felt Ferb touch my shoulder, signaling he wanted me to look at him.

When I did, he pantomimed taking a deep breath to calm down.

I did as he suggested and took in a very shaky, unsteady breath before exhaling.  
I did feel a little better, but I was still crying.

After I had calmed down a bit, Ferb held open his arms for a hug and I willingly obliged as I let myself be wrapped in his warm embrace.

Ferb was so awesome. He's such a great friend. He's pretty much like a brother to me, which is nice since I'm an only child.

After a couple seconds of calming, "Ferb therapy" as I like to call it, I was feeling much better and the water works had finally stopped.

I sniffed as I pulled back from Ferb's hug.

"Thanks, Ferb." I said quietly as I heard Phineas come back. "I needed that."

Ferb smiled at me.

"What?" Phineas exclaimed like he couldn't believe his eyes. "Ferb, how'd you do that?" He asked before sitting down and handing me the water.

I nodded in thanks as I took a sip.

"Ferb's just awesome like that." I explained as I sniffed and gave the cup back to Phineas.

The three of us were quiet for a moment and I decided to ignore the looks both boys were sending each other. I didn't know if they were good or bad, but I wanted to stay out of whatever they were getting into.

"Ferb, could we have a moment alone?" Phineas finally requested.

This threw me for a loop like the time he held hands with me the other night as I looked up at Phineas.

Something big was coming. I knew it.  
My stomach was bursting to the seams with a sudden anxiousness.

Ferb sighed before nodding and going to the room I shared with the boys' parents. My eyes briefly followed his movements before they snapped back to the boy to my right.

"I know you've noticed my, um, _odd_ behavior the past couple days," Phineas started, and I suddenly knew what this was about.

"Um, I want to tell you that when Ferb brought the whole love thing up, some of it was actually true." He explained sheepishly.

I smiled, since I had already figured this out.

"I was worried about you. I-I had a dream were you fell off the Eiffel Tower, which was why I was so paranoid."

The first sentence, I knew about, but the second one was new. I hadn't thought of that.

I nodded for him to continue.

"That, and Ferb, made me realize that, I...like you." Phineas faltered.  
"I love you." He corrected.

I raised my eyebrows as my heart jumped to my throat.

That little voice was right all along.  
I was...I was right! Holy crap, I was right! He loves me!

"Do you..." Phineas trailed off as if he didn't want to say what I knew he wanted to ask.

"Love you back?" I offered.

Phineas nodded as pink crept up his cheeks.

I finally let my excitement show as a smile appeared on my tear covered face.

"Yes, yes I do."

It was Phineas' time to smile as he suddenly hugged me.

When he finally pulled back, he stopped so his face was a mere inch from mine.

Giddiness rose in the pit of my stomach a so realized what he was thinking when he looked at my lips, the n back to my eyes.

It was then, that he had just started to lean closer and our lips were about to touch for the first time, that I woke up.  
In _my_ room.

* * *

 **Go ahead, try to kill me, I dare you. *smirks***

 **I don't hold a single ounce of guilt in my bones for throwing this little plot twist upon you. I've been waiting to put this in here for a while now and almost forgot about it.**

 **I'm not sorry!**

 **What do you think will happen?!**  
 **Virtual chocolate bar to whoever guesses the closest!**

 **I do believe this is my biggest cliffhanger yet...**  
 **~Joy**


	24. Chapter 24 -Back Home-

When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by my magenta pink room and the sunshine pouring through my window.

I quickly sat up upon realizing that I was supposed to be in _Paris_! Not my _room_!

Throwing aside my covers, I swung my legs over the side of my bed and stood up as I heard my mother call me from downstairs.

This had to be a dream!

Was it a dream? Is _this_ a dream? Did I wake up from a dream?

Still unsure of myself, I resorted to an old method, pinching my arm.

I quickly pinched my arm, and sure enough, there was that small surge of pain.

Maybe we came home early and I fell asleep, therefore not remembering much, but...I don't remember anything about us leaving early. We were still supposed to be there for two more days.

I sighed heavily and stood up before walking to my closet. I might as well get dressed and start the day.

Maybe Phineas and Ferb will be able to tell me what happened.

When I opened my closet, I scanned the clothes before picking out peachy pink shorts, a dark, hunter green shirt that went down to my mid thighs, and white lacy shoes.

After I had tucked my shirt into my shorts and put on my shoes, I quickly went downstairs and grabbed the piece of toast my mom had set out and rushed out the door.

"See you later, Míja!" She called after me.

"Bye mamma! And with that I closed the front door and made my way across the street.

This was seriously confusing.  
I could've sworn I was about to kiss Phineas. It felt so real! The whole trip felt real! It couldn't have imagined it all, could I? If so, that would really be depressing. That trip was a chance!  
A chance to gain Phineas' affections once and for all!

How could it have all been a dream?  
It just didn't make sense.

Swallowing down the last of my breakfast, I walked up the driveway and pushed open the gate of the Flynn-Fletcher back yard, but instead of saying my usual catchphrase, I jumped right to it.

"I need you to answer a question." I declared as I walked up to the boys pouring over a blueprint under their tree.

"Oh, hey, Isabella! We'd be happy to! What do you need?" Phineas asked as he looked up from the paper in the grass.

"Um, did you guys decide to come home from Paris early without telling me?" I asked as I sat down in front of the boys with my legs crossed.

Ferb's eyebrows furrowed and  
Phineas' nose scrunched up in confusion.

I almost swooned; It was the cutest thing, -but I couldn't concentrate on that right now.

"What?" Phineas gave me a weird look.

I looked between the the boys.  
We were all equally confused now.

"The Paris trip," I reminded. "remember?"

Phineas slowly shook his head.

"What Paris trip?" Phineas asked.  
"You mean when we went around the world?"

So, it really was just a dream.  
I couldn't believe it.  
That was the best vacation I had ever been on! Save for the giant robot/scientist thing of course.

Everything felt so real, it couldn't have been a dream. It's not possible! Out of all my daydreams and moments in Phineasland, that one was definitely to real to be a dream.

I need more opinions.

"Are your parents home?" I suddenly inquired.

Ferb nodded.  
"Yup. Mums home, she's in the kitchen. Why?"

Oh, the curious mind of Phineas Flynn.  
He questions practically everything.  
...that wasn't Phineas.  
Oh. Well, there's Ferb's daily one-liner.  
Wasn't as poetic as usual. Hm.

"I just wanted to ask her something." I replied casually while I leaned on my hand.

"Well, go right ahead. Ferb and I will wait for you!" Phineas smiled.

I smiled back before jumping up and walking into the house.

Once I had entered through the back door, I made my way to the other side of the kitchen island where Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher was cleaning to stove-top.

"Hi, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher!" I greeted cheerfully despite all the confusion and disbelief well I up inside me.

The boys' mother looked up from her cleaning and smiled.  
"Hello, Isabella! What brings you to my kitchen?" She asked as she set her cleaning rag aside.

"I was just wondering if your family ever went to Paris." I stated casually.

Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips. "No, I don't believe we have." She answered thoughtfully.

Hmm...interesting.  
I was seriously beginning to doubt myself.

Maybe we didn't go to Paris.  
I almost kissed Phineas, so I must have been dreaming. I don't think he would ever think of kissing me in his own. Not without a little nudge of encouragement. Impossible.

I finally gave it up and thanked Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher before joining the boys again.

They had just started even though they said they would wait. Odd.

I shrugged it off and started help to them anyway.

I had no idea what they were building, since they hadn't told me, but I knew it was going to be tall. Very tall.

After a half hour or so, I ran out of work and decided to help Phineas near the top of the structure.  
We were having a good time talking and laughing even thought the topic was inventing, of course, but I didn't mind. I was getting alone time with Phineas and that's all that counted in my book at the moment.

I was picking up a wrench that I had dropped near the edge when someone, or something, bumped into me and I stumbled.

Really? More falling off of super tall structures?

I almost caught, and righted myself, but I was too late.

I was falling. Probably to my death.

No one seemed to hear my screams as the wind flew past me and I reached out to grab something, anything to save me from a premature death, but there was nothing but air.

I was going to die.

* * *

 **I'm sorry I did this to you guys...but it's for the best.**  
 **Don't worry, Phineas and Ferb will get over it.**

 **Until next time!**  
 **~Joy**


	25. Chapter 25 -Fire-

I was falling. To my death.  
But...why wasn't I worried?

I was screaming as the top of the structure grew smaller and shrunk into the clouds and biting cold wind made my hair fly around my head, but deep down inside I didn't feel any panic.  
Sure, it was on the surface like a façade, but I was at peace with my fate in my heart.

Was this what it felt like before you died? A sense of comfort like, deep down inside you knew everything would be okay because you were leaving this horrid world behind and moving on to a better place where you could live happily and there was no real reason to be afraid? Was this _actually_ happening?

I thought about it some more and realized, I didn't want to die.  
I don't want to die and leave everyone here behind. Wouldn't I be sad? Wouldn't I miss them?

Yes, yes I would.

I'd miss everyone, I'd miss mom, dad, abuela...Phineas.

No, I didn't want to leave him, not when I was so close. _So_ close _,_ to being his. _So close,_ to him finally realizing his feelings and to him finally realizing mine.

But the chance had slipped away.

I wanted that back. I wanted my chance back. I didn't want to die, I wanted to live. I wanted this to all go away, this dream, or reality, _whatever_ this was so I could finish school, grow up and get married. I wanted to start a family and watch my grandkids grow up, all with Phineas by my side.

I had so much to live for.  
This couldn't be the end.

Finally, I heard a shout of exclamation, telling someone else to "Get mom" and "call 911" or something like that.  
Finally, someone had noticed I had fallen. Someone would save me.

I felt leaves and branches brush past my body, and I guessed that I was falling through the branches of the strong oak located in the yard.

I would be hitting the ground soon.  
I was so sure of that when I felt my body slam into the grass, but I was still falling, so I got a little scared.

It felt like I had landed on the surface of some body of water, and kept sinking. It felt like I had gone through some filter. It didn't hurt like I would have expected it to.

I opened my eyes and saw my body lying there above me in the grass with people surrounding my unconscious body. I was sure I was looking up through dirt or something.

But...I was right here. What happened?

I looked down at myself and saw I looked a little bit more...transparent.

Was I a...ghost or something?

As I floated, or fell, whatever, I looked around, but saw nothing but dirt, rocks, and the huge roots of the tree above my head.

Once more I looked up and I saw paramedics rush forward with a stretcher and lift my body onto it.

It was a little hard to watch, but what really got me was that...no one looked upset.

Momma and Poppa were there, and so were the Flynn-Fletcher's, but no one was crying or...or... _anything._ Not that I wanted them to be upset. I was fine! I was watching them, wasn't I? But it still stung when I looked at Phineas' straight face and the lack of worry in his eyes. It was like he didn't care.

I clutched my head and I suddenly felt too hot, like I was surrounded by fire.

What was happening?! Was this a dream? Was this reality?! What is this?!

I felt like screaming.

I opened my eyes and the heat was suddenly so intense like I was actually in a pit of fire or magma.  
It was brighter too, but not that soft yellow lightbulb light, no, this light was bright orange and red with hints of blue. Like fire.

Again I felt like I was falling through a filter and everything was flying by so fast I didn't get to look at my surroundings before I landed on dry, cracked, dirt that was surrounded by flames.

It was _so hot_ down here that I felt like my skin was melting off my body and my insides were evaporating.

I shakily stood up and looked around at my surroundings.

It looked, and felt, like I was in a huge cave of some sort or a hollowed out area under the surface of the earth.  
There were torches on the walls of the cave and it looked like the fire was climbing up the rocks and dirt.

Tall, black buildings that looked more like ruins stretched far above my head and looked like they would brush against the dirt ceiling.  
Flames were also climbing up the buildings, but they weren't burning up, which was curious.

There were ashes in the air that gave the whole place a dark, dusky look and I was probably breathing in way too much of it for my own good.

Just when I felt like I had seen enough, my eyes landed on an old, broken wood sign about ten feet in front of me that had been stained black by all the ash and said in bold red letters, "HELL".

My eyes widened and I couldn't help but wonder why I was here.  
I had been a good child my whole life so this made no sense. Did I murder someone in a previous life?!

Before I could look at anymore, I blinked and suddenly I was in a dark room facing an eerily familiar face.

The pharmacist.

* * *

I feel so bad for completely forgetting about this book! Ahhhh! I'm so sorry!

At first I wasn't sure where I was going with this "hell" thing, but I thought about and decided it would be better that it was related to the story instead of some radon trip to the underworld, you know?

What was your favorite part?  
What do you think could be better?

~Joy

I have to say...comments on here or cruder and more..."honest" than any other site I've ever been on...thank you for your opinions though. :)


	26. Chapter 26 -Safe-

My eyes widened as the man before me crept closer and closer. He had something in his hands, but I wasn't table to tell what it was. All I knew was that it was bad and that made the whole situation worse.

He chuckled evilly and lunged forwards, causing me to scream and close my eyes while my hands flew to my face.

I had no idea what was going on.  
Was I awake? Was I asleep?  
Was I dead, or alive?

There were so many questions swimming inside my brain, but they all stopped where they were when I heard him say my name.

"Isabella," the pharmacist whispered, but it didn't really sound like him.  
The voice was clearer and less scratchy.  
Who was that?

I slowly opened one eye when nothing had happened. There was no one there.

"Isabella," the voiced whispered from behind me, this time in a breathy tone, like the person was exhaling air from their lungs and causing fog (?) to swirl around in the air.

I spun around, my breaths coming heavily from fear, but there wasn't anyone there either.

It looked like I was alone in the dark room with shadows cast eerily across the walls despite the lack of torches or any source of light.

"Isabella," it was stronger this time, more confident and clear.

I wasn't able to identify where it was coming from, exactly, but it was there. It was definitely there.

I slowly turned back around and saw none other than the man in a spot that I could've sworn was empty just a second ago.

He was scarily close to me. So close that I could easily count his short, black eyelashes.

Of course, since I hadn't known he was there, a scream elicited from my lips again and everything went black as I heard a chuckle.  
"You will be mine, little Princess."

• • • •

"Isabella!"

My eyes snapped open at the echoey sound of my name.

White.

That was what I was seeing and I was relieved to find I wasn't in that place anymore.

I realized I was laying down so I quickly sat up, only to be met with four concerned faces.

Out of instinct, I jumped, but didn't scream as I realized it was just the Flynn-Fletcher's.

I was still breathing heavily and I couldn't help but wonder if this was some sort of dream as well, if that's what the other previous events were.

I quickly glanced around in search of the man, to make sure he wasn't there and was reminded that I was in our hotel room in Paris.

Outside, I could see the dark night sky, seeing that it was probably late in the evening. Maybe 9 or 10:00 pm.

"Isabella, are you okay?" Someone asked so I turned to look at the speaker which happened to be Linda.

I was silent.  
"...maybe," I replied hesitantly as I tried to slow my breathing.

"You screamed," Phineas pointed out. "did you have a bad dream?" He asked.

I would have answered immediately, but the sad part was...I didn't know.

"It depends..." I searched each face sitting near the foot of my bed, but found nothing out of the ordinary.  
"Is _this_ a dream?" I asked.

"I hope not," Lawrence chuckled. "I payed good money for this vacation."

I nodded silently as I tried to make sense of what had happened.

"What happened?" I asked the boys.

I knew that they wouldn't be able to tell me what happened in my...dream(s?) but maybe they could tell me what happened before them.

"In your dream? Well, only you would-"  
Phineas started.

"No, before that." I corrected.

"Oh, okay." He replied. "Well, we came back here and you were crying so Ferb and I were trying to help you feel better, only I wasn't really able to help so I got up and went to get you some water,"

So far, I remembered everything he was telling me, which was good I guess.

"when I came back," Phineas continued. "you had fallen asleep while Ferb was comforting you, so we put you on your bed and everything was fine until you screamed. We guessed you were having a bad dream so we tried to wake you up." He finished.

Because I fell asleep, that meant I didn't kiss Phineas, which was disappointing, but also all the other stuff didn't happen in real life.  
I didn't fall off a huge structure into hell, or magically get transported back to Danville. I never went anywhere, which was a relief.

"Sorry," I smiled apologetically at Ferb who just gave me a thumbs up as if telling me it was fine.

"And I'm sorry I worried you guys. I'm okay now." I admitted, even though I still felt a bit on edge.

Why was I so afraid of that guy?  
I don't have to be afraid. There's nothing to be afraid of, but here I am, scared out of my wits! I'm probably overthinking this.

"It's alright, Isabella." Linda smiled as she got up and grabbed a book from next to the television, probably so she could continue reading it, and Lawrence went to the bathroom.

I glanced at the clock on the nightstand next to me. It said 8:34 pm.

"Hey," Phineas said softly, to get my attention.

I turned my head to look at him as if saying I was listening.

"do you want to tell us about your dream?" He asked.

I immediately shook my head.  
"No." I answered quickly before rethinking. "Um, maybe later." I corrected.

Both boys nodded.  
"Okay, well, Ferb and I were watching a movie. So, feel free to join us if you want." Phineas invited before he and Ferb left as well to go to their own, room.

I sat in my bed for a moment more before jumping from under the blankets and walking into the boys' room.

When I walked in, both boys were on Phineas' bed watching some old spy movie that was playing on tv so I went over and crawled to the head of the bed and sat between them, smiling when Phineas took my hand and setting my head of Ferb's shoulder.

I was at home with these boys.  
They made me feel so safe and protected.

"I love you guys." I whispered.

* * *

Ending?

I'm at our new house right now, scraping carpet insulation off the floor and let me tell you, it is not recommended. My wrist hurts from using the scraper thingy.  
I'm taking a break now so I can update some stuff, then I'll probably go find lunch and get back to it.

I hope you're having a better day than me! 😂😁😩  
~Joy


	27. Chapter 27 -Wall of Love-

_"You will be mine, Princess!" He cackled evilly. "There is no escape!"_

I shot up in bed, breathing heavily.  
Another dream about the man had disturbed my sleep once more.  
Hopefully these go away soon.

I looked over at the bed to my left and noted that it was empty, meaning I had either missed breakfast, or Mr. and Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher are in the boys' room.

Usually, besides the boys, I was the first one up, but I suppose today is an exception.

Today was the last day we were in Paris, meaning we were either going to spend the day packing, or cramming as much fun and activity into the day as possible and packing when we got back.

My lungs heaved up and down as I took a deep breath before my legs were swung over the side of the bed and my feet on the soft carpeted floor.

I probably should get up soon if I don't want the others to leave for breakfast without me.

Today my nerves had calmed considerably, but I was still a little on edge. The dream didn't help.

The carpet was soft under my stocking feet as I padded past the boys' closed door towards the bathroom.

Usually, stopping at the door to hear anything they might be saying wouldn't cross my mind, but when my name was mentioned, I couldn't help myself and my ear was up to the surface of the door in a flash.

"Phineas, you have to tell Isabella," Ferb said lowly.

There was a sigh and a bed creaked.  
"I know, Ferb. I know," Phineas sounded distressed, but he pushed on. "I just...don't you think it's too soon after...the accident?" Phineas whispered.

There was silence for a moment before a reply could be heard.

"-aybe...but I'm sure she wouldn't be upset by the news."

I had had enough.  
Eavesdropping is probably not what I should be doing at the moment.

Only after the bathroom door was closed and the shower turned on did I allow myself to dwell on what I heard.

But just as quickly, the possibilities running through my mind turned into a memory of the confession that took place in my dream, and inevitably, into thoughts of the man that was also in my dream.

My eyes closed and water ran over my face as I tried my best to banish the thoughts, but it didn't really work.  
There was one question I had to have answered.

 _Why did he keep calling me princess?_

It didn't really make any sense. He doesn't know me or who I am. He's not an old family friend or relative that had some sort of nickname for me.  
Is it just something he thought up randomly?

I shrugged my shoulders as the water was turned off and jumped out of the shower before getting dressed.

It's probably nothing.

When I walked into the boys' room to see what they were doing, I smiled at what I saw.

Both of them were on Ferb's bed pouring over blueprints that were scattered around the comforter and tinkering around with some device that required mini screwdrivers, along with miniature screws that could easily get lost in the recently vacuumed carpet.

Ferb looked up, probably sensing my presence, and motioned for me to come in.

"He couldn't help himself," Ferb referred to his brother.

"It's been a whole week Ferb. How long did you think I would last?" Phineas asked, marking something on a blueprint and taking out a screw. Ferb just shrugged and chuckled.

Walking closer I asked, "So, whatcha doin'?" before sitting at the foot of the bed.

The item amidst the blueprints looked like some sort of purple hairbrush. It was on the smaller side and, instead of the handle being solid, it was equipped with a wild mess of wires that were systematically being fed into the hollowed out plastic.

"It looks like..." I tilted my head, as if looking at it at a slightly different angle would help me understand better. "What is it?"

Phineas chuckled and continued with the wires. "It's a special hairbrush that re-grows hair." He said simply. "Say you cut your hair really short for some reason and you wanted it long again," Phineas picked up the hairbrush, careful not to undo any of his work, and pantomimed brushing his hair. "Just pull this through your hair a couple times then a few more until your hair is back to its desired length!" He said cheerily, then he set the device back down and continued his work.

"Wow, that's really cool!" I responded. "Can I help?"

Beside Phineas, Ferb raised an eyebrow.  
I wasn't sure what that meant but he gave his brother a look of disbelief when Phineas said, "Sure!"

After scooting closer to the boys to get a better look at the blueprints, I asked, "Is there a problem, Ferb?"

Ferb just sighed and looked kind of defeated before Phineas slowly looked up. "Fine," He said. "you can help too, Ferb."

The British-American teenager perked up immedietly and picked up a notepad that had notes and corrections scribbled all over.

My eyes flicked between the two brothers, before stopping them at Phineas, who felt my stare and looked up. "Did you exclude Ferb from this project?" I asked incredulously.

Ferb nodded his head furiously in protest while Phineas awkwardly scratched his neck.  
"Well..." He trailed off.

"Phineas Flynn!" The red-head cringed at my suddenly stern tone of voice. "You know Ferb loves inventing just as much as you do!" I slapped his arm lightly.

"Yes, mother." Phineas muttered sarcastically.

After that, the three of us worked on the hairbrush until it was finished and I may or may not have played around with it...I knew my hair was already really long, but what's a couple more inches?

Once we were done with it, the invention was stashed away in a suitcase and Ferb went back to reading his book on advanced physics. Nerd.

After a while of having nothing to do, the boy's parents returned from an early morning antique show and Lawrence suggested we go on a walk. Before I even had the chance to give Ferb my usual pleading look, he said he was going to stay behind to finish his book, which meant it was just Phineas and I.

Of course, Phineas asked the usual, "are you sure?" in which Ferb replied, as always, with a nod.  
With that, Phineas and I were off.

At first, we just wandered around the block the hotel was located on before we ventured about three and a half blocks towards a tourist attraction called Le mur des "je t'aime" or "Wall of Love"

The both of us entered the small garden like venue and stood in front of the wall.  
Phineas was fascinated, seeing the same phrase written 311 times in 250 languages, and so was I.

 _I wonder if it's just coincidence that we stumbled upon this place._ I thought as I looked over at Phineas, who was admiring the calligraphy scrawled upon the dark blue tiles.

"You know...I've been thinking." Phineas stated nervously as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

"That can be pretty dangerous," I giggled. Phineas only gave me a look that said, "come on now,". My heart fluttered as he smiled shyly and I had to take a deep breath.

"I..." Phineas started again before sighing and rethinking his sentence. "Ever since we got here, to Paris, I started noticing these things that I never noticed before...and Ferb pointed out that I..." The blush that spread from his ears to his cheeks was delightfully amusing as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "might like you," he finished quietly as if he didn't want the other tourists to hear.

I felt the smile that crept onto my face while he was talking drop into a confused frown as my brain processed his words.

He...liked me?  
So, does that mean all the suspicious and odd behavior going on with him was because he liked me?!

My brain couldn't stop my lips from opening and the word, "Finally!" escaped my mouth before I caught up and let my hand slap over my lips, as if that would take the words back.

"What?" Phineas grinned crookedly. His eyes shifting around nervously.

I quickly shook my head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out that way!" I laughed, making the red-head in front of my relax a little. " I like you too. Always have. I was just waiting for you to...realize, I guess."

"Well," Phineas took his hands out of his pockets and took my own. "I'm sorry I never noticed and I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier this week and I-"

I didn't let him talk anymore. It was cliche, I know, but shutting him up with a kiss was the best way I knew how to get him quiet at the moment. Besides, I had been waiting for this my whole life, why listen to the apologies when he's already forgiven? They're just keeping me from the love of my life.

* * *

 _Well, that's the END OF THE BOOK!_

 _*Sighs in relief* Just 3 million to go. (that's an exaggeration but you know what I mean)_  
 _I_ book _closer to Contractors in a Castle! I hope you loved this book! Don't worry, there will be a sequel, I just don't know when I'll have time to write it. :)_

 _Love you guys! ~Gilly_

Edit:I _totally FORGOT to update this last chapter! It's been up on Wattpad since October of last year! I'm so sorry! I can't believe it's taken me almost a year to get this last chapter to you guys, I totally flaked. I'm SO SORRY!_


End file.
